COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average band D council tax set by parish and town councils was in 2006-07.

Ruth Kelly: An estimate of the average Band D council tax set by parish and town councils in 2006-07 is to be found in table A2b of "Local Government Financial Statistics England No. 17" which was published on 30 April 2007.
	A copy can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/2007/lgfs17.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) average Band D council tax and  (b) average council tax per dwelling in (i) each government office region in England, (ii) two-tier areas, (iii) unitary areas, (iv) metropolitan areas and (v) London boroughs is for 2007-08.

Ruth Kelly: Details of the average Band D council tax and average council tax per dwelling for 2007-08 were published in a statistical release "Levels of council tax set by local authorities in England—2007-08" on 27 March 2007.
	The release can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctax067.htm

Departments: Carbon Emissions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology is used by her Department to account for its carbon emissions.

Angela Smith: Communities and Local Government calculates its carbon emissions from buildings by establishing energy consumption in kilowatt hours, through either automated meter reads, manual meter reads or utility billing information. The resultant energy consumption figures are then multiplied by the relevant carbon emission factors.
	All carbon conversion factors are provided by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, and the resultant emissions data are submitted to the Sustainable Development Commission as part of the Sustainable Development in Government Report. Last year's report is available on the Sustainable Development Commission's Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) Report 2006 website:
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2006/.

Departments: Church of Scientology

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local government institutions have contacted her Department for guidance on visits from  (a) Narconon and  (b) the Church of Scientology in the last two years; and what guidance has been issued by her Department.

Phil Woolas: No local government institutions have contacted the Department for guidance on these matters during the last two years, nor has any such guidance been issued.

Departments: Consultants

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the outside  (a) agencies and  (b) consultancies which are undertaking work commissioned by her Department; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost is of each commission.

Angela Smith: This question can be fully answered only at disproportionate cost.
	Communities and Local Government has engaged consultants to support policy development in response to the need to develop sustainable homes and communities. The skills required for these programmes were not available from civil servants.
	In addition, specialist skills including project management, finance, engineering, technology specification, building specification and design, security and resilience have been procured to support the delivery of projects to enhance the ability of the Fire and Rescue Service to respond to major incidents.
	The work undertaken includes provision of radio engineering expertise for the new radio systems for the Fire and Rescue Service; also, logistical support and design for responding to chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear incident, and search and rescue incidents.
	However the following table lists the 10 highest consultancy costs incurred by the Department.
	
		
			  Vendor name  Programme  Value of supply 1 April 2003- 30 March 2007 (£ million) 
			 PA Consulting FireControl 18.6 
			 Mott McDonald FireLink 12.7 
			 SERCO New Dimensions 7.2 
			 IBM Planning Portal 6.0 
			 CapGemini Supporting People 5.5 
			 Collective Enterprises Home Improvement Advice 3.1 
			 Xansa LogasNet 2.8 
			 Turner Townsend Fire Control 2.5 
			 Xansa Hub Project 1.9 
			 Ernst Young FireLink 1.1

Domestic Wastes: Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on their duties in respect of regular rubbish collection.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	My Department has funded research and guidance through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to assist local authorities in carrying out their waste collection operations in their chosen manner efficiently and effectively. However, decisions on the best way to collect waste are rightly a matter for local authorities, not central government.

European Regional Development Fund

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the action plan produced by her Department and the Government offices in response to the decision of the European Commission to suspend European Regional Development Fund funding.

Ruth Kelly: I have placed a copy of the Roadmap to Assurance in the Library of the House, which sets out the Department's response to the EC decision to delay payment to five English ERDF programmes and one urban programme. The roadmap supplements and strengthens guidance already issued by the Department.

European Regional Development Fund

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in respect of which programmes within the European Regional Development Fund the European Commission has  (a) called for more site checks and  (b) held back payments.

Ruth Kelly: The following English ERDF programmes have had payments held back by the European Commission:
	Objective 1 Merseyside
	Objective 1 South Yorkshire
	Objective 2 West Midlands
	Objective 2 Yorkshire and The Humber
	Objective 2 North East of England
	Objective 2 London
	Stockwell
	Burnley, Blackburn and Darwen
	Halifax in Calderdale
	Hetton and Murton
	Peterborough
	These programmes have increased the number of on site checks as part of a robust action plan to address the Commission requirements. We are confident that payments can resume quickly after we have submitted our reports to the Commission at the beginning of July.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many zero-carbon homes the Government forecasts will be built in each of the next three years.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the comments made by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary, on 15 May 2007,  Official Report, column 142.

Immigration

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received from local authorities on the Government's estimates of numbers of immigrants; and what discussions she has had with the Office for National Statistics on this issue.

Ruth Kelly: Communities and Local Government receive representations from local authorities about the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) population estimates and population projections used in the local government finance settlements on a range of issues.
	Officials meet with ONS officials regularly and discuss a variety of issues including population estimates.

Local Authorities: Committees

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has produced on the balance of political representation within local authority area committees.

Ruth Kelly: The Department issued the New Council Constitutions Guidance Pack to local authorities in 2000, which includes reference to the rules relating to the political balance of area committees. The documents are available in the Library of the House and can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1133792.

Non-domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average business rates bill was in England in each year since 1996-97; and what it is expected to be in 2007-08.

Ruth Kelly: The average business rates bill in England in 2007-08 is expected to be £10,817.
	For details of previous years, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 238W.

Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the effect on revenue of removing the relief for empty property from business rates.

Ruth Kelly: The Government estimate was published in the Red Book alongside the Budget Report 2007.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many individual premises are classified by the Valuation Office Agency for business rates purposes as golf courses.

Ruth Kelly: The number of properties described as "golf course" in the 2005 Rating Lists for England, at 31 March 2007, is 1,928.
	In addition to the number shown, there may be other golf courses that are secondary to a main assessment (e.g. with hotels). There may also be courses that are exempt from rating, if held as part of a larger public park and available for free and unrestricted use by the public.

Regional Housing Boards: Freedom of Information

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the regional housing boards will remain subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 when they are merged with the regional assemblies in England; and if she will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: As voluntary bodies, Regional Assemblies are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Nevertheless the Government expects the Assemblies to comply with the spirit of the Act when they perform their designated functions, as set out in "Guidance on the General Principles of Designation of Voluntary Regional Assemblies".

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the arrangements are for local authorities to withdraw from joint waste management authority arrangements that they have previously joined.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1641W.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the introduction of joint waste authorities.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	It will be for interested local authorities to submit proposals for joint waste authorities (JWAs) to the Secretary of State for approval and implementation through secondary legislation.
	The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, which contains the Government's proposals to allow the creation of joint waste authorities, is scheduled to receive Royal Assent in the autumn. Following Royal Assent, the Government will undertake a consultation on draft Regulations which will set out what authorities' proposals must address. Any proposals will also be subject to a local public consultation. It is therefore estimated that the first JWAs may be established at the end of 2008 at the earliest, depending on the wishes of local authorities.

Waste Management: Cost Effectiveness

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1736W, on waste management: cost effectiveness, which local authorities have listed moving from weekly to alternative weekly collections as an efficiency gain in their annual efficiency statement submitted to her Department or its predecessor.

Ruth Kelly: The following councils have included alternative waste collections in their annual efficiency statement:
	 2004-05 Backward Look
	Babergh district council, Mid Bedfordshire district council, North Norfolk district council, Rossendale borough council, South Cambridgeshire district council.
	 2005-06 Backward Look
	Broadland district council, Canterbury city council, Charnwood borough council, Chorley borough council, Crewe and Nantwich borough council, Mid Bedfordshire district council (included above), Mole Valley district council, North Shropshire district council, Rossendale borough council (included above), South Cambridgeshire district council (included above), Wycombe district council.
	 2006-07 Forward Look
	Bridgnorth district council, Canterbury city council (included above), Charnwood borough council, Chichester district council, Crewe and Nantwich borough council (included above), Hertsmere borough council, Kennet district council, Rotherham metropolitan borough council, Salisbury district council, Shrewsbury and Atcham borough council, South Kesteven district council, Suffolk Coastal district council, Tewkesbury district council, West Lancashire district council, Wycombe district council (included above).

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departments: Buildings

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of leasing buildings and office space was for  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: Information on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Royal Parks Agency does not lease any buildings or office space.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff funded by the public purse in  (a) the Royal Parks,  (b) Ofcom and  (c) the British Library are classified as people without posts.

David Lammy: Both the Royal Parks Agency and Ofcom have no staff funded by the public purse classified as people without posts.
	The British Library has five members of staff whose position may be deemed pertinent to the classification in question. These five employees have all been affected by recent restructuring in their area or the completion of projects on which they were engaged. Therefore, appropriate action is being implemented in each individual case to arrive at a satisfactory outcome, in terms of redeployment or a suitable settlement, to their current situations.

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was received by her Department from the letting of its properties in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The Department received the sums recorded as follows for the letting of its properties in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 1,915,250.00 
			 2003-04 1,841,425.00 
			 2004-05 1,627,000.00 
			 2005-06 1,679,262.17 
			 2006-07 482,000.00

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what properties the Department  (a) owned and  (b) rented in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The following properties were  (a) owned and  (b) rented by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in each of the last five financial years.
	 (a) The Department owns the freeholds to the following properties in Windsor:
	21, 22, 23, 29 Park Street and St. Mark's Place.
	During the period in question the Department sold hitherto owned properties as follows;
	the freehold with vacant possession to 10 Chantry Close Windsor in 2003-04;
	freeholds to 30, 31 and 32 Park Street, Windsor were sold in 2004-05;
	The freehold to the North East corner of the Royal Garden Hotel was sold in 2005-06.
	the freehold to 20 Park Street Windsor was sold in 2006-07 and in the same year Fairview Cottage was sold as freehold with vacant possession.
	The Department owns an area of land to the north of the British Library in London.
	 (b) The Department rents the following properties—all in London and has done so throughout the period in question;
	2-4 Cockspur Street;
	Oceanic House;
	Grove House;
	Queen's Yard.
	The Department rented floor space at Woburn Place, London until the end financial year of 2004-05 and rented a floor at 55 Blandford Street, London during financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate has been made of the value of the Department's property portfolio.

David Lammy: The freeholds of certain properties in Windsor are held in the name of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. These are leased on a long term basis by private individuals.
	The latest estimated value held in the Department's asset register for these properties is £140,000.
	One other property in Windsor cannot be sold as it is within the security compound of Windsor Castle.
	The Department owns an area of land to the North of the British Library in London. There are plans to sell this land: it is currently valued in our asset register at £26.6 million.

Digital Broadcasting: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the same number of people in Copeland who can currently receive analogue television signals will be able to receive digital television signals in October this year; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Whitehaven, Gosforth and Eskdale Green transmitters will switchover to digital in October this year. The technical characteristics for each transmitter have been chosen to allow their predicted digital coverage levels to match current analogue coverage levels.

Digital Broadcasting: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the status of the preparations for the digital television switchover in Copeland.

Shaun Woodward: The switchover will begin in Whitehaven and the surrounding area on 17 October and in the rest of Copeland as part of the wider border region in late 2008.
	Public awareness of switchover in Copeland is now 97 per cent. and 71 per cent. of primary sets have already been converted in advance of the area switching in October.
	The contractor for operating the help scheme in Copeland, Capita, has now been appointed.
	In addition, of those asked none has stated that they will not convert at least one set prior to switchover.

Digital Broadcasting: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance is being provided by her Department to assist television licence fee payers in Copeland who are deaf, partially sighted or living with other forms of sensory or physical disability or impairment in successfully adapting to digital switchover in October this year.

Shaun Woodward: Households in the Whitehaven area where at least one person is registered blind or registered partially-sighted or with a severe disability will be provided with the appropriate equipment to convert one TV set and, where necessary, the relevant help to install and use such equipment and an aerial installation.

Digital Broadcasting: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in Copeland will receive assistance from the targeted help scheme with regard to the digital switchover in Whitehaven; and how many people are eligible, broken down by each of the qualifying categories of recipient.

Shaun Woodward: We estimate that around 8,500 households will be eligible for assistance from the digital switchover help scheme (DSHS) in the Copeland constituency. The vast majority will be eligible for help when the Whitehaven transmitters are switched over in between October and November 2007. All others will be eligible when the Caldbeck transmitter switches in early 2009.
	We estimate that around 36 per cent. of those eligible, will be eligible for free assistance on the grounds of receiving pension credit, income support and income based job seeker's allowance. 64 per cent. of those eligible, will be eligible for assistance subject to a charge of £40.

European Capital of Culture: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) UK Government and  (b) EU funding has been made available to support Liverpool's Capital of Culture festival.

David Lammy: DCMS and Arts council have committed £10 million over the period 2005-09 to support Liverpool's Capital of Culture. In addition Liverpool received a grant of £1,200,000 from the Urban Cultural programme; and the North West Development Agency has approved £2 million.
	The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has approved £10 million funding and in addition provided Phase 1—£946,000 ERDF pre 2008 approval and Phase 2—£2.63 million ERDF post approval.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the estimated running costs are of  (a) mandatory ceremonies,  (b) bid projects and  (c) the UK-Wide Cultural Festival during the Cultural Olympiad in 2012.

Tessa Jowell: The mandatory ceremonies will be directly funded from the London 2012 Organising Committee's budget for the 2012 games. It is confident that the mandatory ceremonies will be funded within its £2 billion revenue budget. The bid projects and signature events and the UK-wide cultural festival will be delivered and funded in partnership with a range of public and private partners. For example, the £40 million Legacy Trust will fund cultural and sporting activity in the run up to the 2012 games.
	The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will shortly set out more detail on the bid projects and the UK-wide Cultural Festival. The Cultural Olympiad is an opportunity for exciting proposals to be generated in the regions over the four-year period with funding being drawn in from a number of sources.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games: Greater London, what the dates were of the meetings chaired by the Minister of Sport as part of the separate cost review set up to take forward the work of the Olympic Cost Review Steering Group.

Tessa Jowell: Meetings of the cost review group which took forward the work of the steering group were held on:
	26 January 2006;
	7 February 2006;
	21 February 2006;
	9 March 2006; and
	25 April 2006.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games: Greater London, which external consultancy companies were involved in the separate cost review set up to take forward the work of the Olympic Cost Review Steering Group.

Tessa Jowell: KPMG were commissioned in October 2005 to provide advice on the cost of the Olympics. That advice was provided on an ongoing basis; and included KPMG being involved in the cost review set up to take forward the work of the cost review steering group.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games: Greater London, who the members were of the separate cost review group chaired by the Minister for Sport to take forward the work of the Olympic Cost Review Steering Group; and who the members were of the original steering group.

Tessa Jowell: The cost review steering group included membership from DCMS, HMT, ODPM (now DCLG), GLA, LOCOG, the interim ODA and KPMG. These organisations were also represented in the cost review group that was chaired by the Minister for Sport.
	Dependent on the subject under discussion, representatives from HO, DfT, British Olympic Association (BOA), the Olympic Board Secretariat (now the Olympic Programme Support Unit) and Sport England were also invited to attend these meetings.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games: Greater London, what reports were prepared  (a) for and  (b) by the separate cost review chaired by the Minister of Sport to take forward the work of the Olympic cost review steering group.

Tessa Jowell: The cost review group chaired by the Minister for Sport assessed opportunities for reducing costs. This included the consideration of alternative options for the configuration of the Olympic park, alternative locations for venues, and for rationalising the design of supporting infrastructure. The group did not produce a report, although the output of its work informed decisions on the new Olympic park master plan announced on 7 June 2006.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games: Greater London, on what date discussions of VAT with HM Treasury in relation to the proposed Olympic Delivery Authority  (a) commenced and  (b) concluded.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006, reported in paragraphs 48 to 50 of the Committee's report, published on 24 January 2007, where I stated that it was known at the time of the bid that the bid did not include VAT. The basis for that was the understood and agreed assumption that it was not possible to sort out the tax treatment until the delivery structures were in place, and that matter could not be known before the bid was won. This issue was taken forward as part of the cost review work, and I announced the VAT position in respect of the Olympic Delivery Authority in my statement to the House on 15 March 2007.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department received representations before 15 March 2007 from  (a) the Olympic Delivery Authority and  (b) other bodies involved in the delivery of the 2012 Olympics on the need for swift agreement on a revised Olympics budget in order to avoid increased costs.

Tessa Jowell: Following London winning the bid, I instituted a thorough review of costs and provisions for the Olympic games. This included consultations and discussions within Government, with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and with other delivery partners. This also incorporated consideration of what funds needed to be available, and by when. Following the conclusion of this cost review, I announced on 15 March 2007,  Official Report, column 450, a budget for the ODA and on a number of issues including wider security, tax and contingency provision.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to publish the Memorandum of Understanding on profit-sharing arrangements in respect of the 2012 Olympics agreed between her Department and the Mayor of London.

Tessa Jowell: The work to develop the revised Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London is progressing well. The revised Memorandum will be published as soon as possible, following its agreement.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what consideration was given to matters of specifically Scottish interest when drafting the terms of reference of the Olympic cost review steering group;
	(2)  what provision is made for consideration of impacts on Scotland in the contractual specification and terms of reference governing KPMG's provision of on-going advice on the cost of the Olympic games in 2012.

Tessa Jowell: After winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympic games, I instituted a thorough cost review. This cost review, to which KPMG provided advice, was overseen by the Olympic cost review steering group.
	No specific assessment of the interests or impact to Scotland formed part of the drafting of the terms of reference of the Olympic cost review steering group, or the contractual specification and terms of reference governing KPMG's provision of on-going advice on the cost of the Olympic and Paralympic games.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that people across the UK, including Scotland can benefit from, and participate in, the 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games. We are working closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games (LOCOG) and the Nations and Regions Group (NRG), chaired by Charles Allen, which brings together representatives from every Nation and region. Each Nation and region is finalising its own plan to maximise the impact of the games in their area, as well as the wider opportunities to deliver a sustainable legacy from the games.
	Further detailed information regarding Scotland's plan can be provided by the relevant NRG Coordinator, Ian Campbell (Scottish Executive, Sports Division, Room 1-B(N), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ).
	In addition, Hampden Park in Glasgow will host group stages of the Olympic football competition. This will add significant strength to Scotland's potential to benefit from the games.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date her Department became aware that the budget for the 2012 Olympics would have to include VAT.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent (Hugh Robertson) on 6 November 2006,  Official Report, column 565W and in my evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006. My response sets out the basis on which VAT was dealt with in the candidature file prepared in 2004, and the action I took to initiate a review of costs and funding following the success of the bid in autumn 2005. This is also summarised in paragraphs 48 to 50 of the Committee's report published on 24 January.

Tourism: Greater London

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the UK's ability to encourage overseas visitors visiting London to visit the rest of the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: DCMS provides funding of around £50 million per annum to VisitBritain, which promotes Britain as a whole. The Department's funding agreement with VisitBritain includes a target that, of the additional expenditure by inbound visitors generated by VisitBritain, a specified percentage should be achieved outside London. For 2005-06, the target was 55 per cent. and VisitBritain exceeded this by achieving a regional spread of 61 per cent.
	Campaigns run by VisitBritain and enjoyEngland highlight attractions across the country to both inbound and domestic visitors. They target, for example, the growing demand for city breaks and the lifestyle market (including the appeal of food, sport, culture and family friendly attractions).
	VisitBritain also co-funds (with Visit London) the Britain and London Visitor Centre. This acts as a gateway for visitors to learn about, and set out to explore, the rest of the country. VisitBritain's quality assessment schemes for accommodation and visitor attractions ensure uniform national standards for visitors.
	The Department, along with our partners, will shortly publish a strategy to ensure that the tourism sector makes the most of the opportunities provided by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. One of the principles of this will be that the benefits of the games are felt as widely as possible throughout the UK.

VisitBritain

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1180W, on VisitBritain, how the changes referred to will improve VisitBritain's ability  (a) to promote Britain to overseas visitors and  (b) to support the tourism industry's progress towards the target of £100 billion turnover.

Shaun Woodward: VisitBritain has restructured to meet the challenges posed by market trends, such as the move away from printed consumer literature and towards online marketing. VisitBritain will focus its activities on developing new and growing markets, including proposed increases in staffing levels in the Asia-Pacific region.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departments: Advertising

David Heath: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much revenue her Department received from advertisements on her Department's  (a) public information leaflets and  (b) public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office does not keep central records of such revenue. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff funded by the public purse in the Central Office of Information are classified as people without posts.

Hilary Armstrong: The Central Office of Information has no staff classified as people without posts.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1122W, on Departments: manpower, what the estimated annual cost is to the public purse of employing the members of staff without posts.

Hilary Armstrong: All members of staff in the Department's Priority Talent Pool are engaged in work to deliver the Department's business objectives to ensure that there is no additional cost to the public purse.

Departments: Official Cars

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister without Portfolio what visits she has made involving a mix of political and official engagements where Government car service vehicles were used in 2007; and whether the Government was reimbursed a proportion of the cost in each case.

Hazel Blears: All travel is undertaken in accordance with Travel by Ministers and the Ministerial Code, copies of which are available in the House Library.

Energy: Environment Protection

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will post each of the policy papers drafted for the Energy and Environment strand of the policy reviews, as referred to in paragraph 9.3 of the Prime Minister's strategy unit report on building on progress: energy and environment, dated 5 June, on the Cabinet Office website.

Patrick McFadden: Information relating to the policy review is available on the Cabinet Office website http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/policy_review/index.asp. Papers were drafted for working group meetings of each strand of the policy review. However, these were working papers prepared for internal discussion by Ministers and have not been disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussions in future.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people have been assisted through the National Youth Volunteering Service; how many regional outlets have been set up; and what proportion of the £100 million budget has been spent.

Edward Miliband: The independent youth-led charity v has created nearly 120,000 volunteering opportunities for young people.
	In addition to the grant funded and match funded projects, v has commissioned 20 teams based within local communities with the aim of creating a further 22,800 local opportunities over the next two years.
	A detailed breakdown of expenditure will be in v's annual report which will be published later this year.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on  (a) print and  (b) online campaign advertising and sponsorship related to  The Guardian newspaper Side by Side supplement.

Alan Johnson: Sponsorship costs for running the supplement were £50,000. There were no additional costs for print or online advertising to promote the supplement.

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on  (a) sponsoring newspaper and publication supplements and  (b) funding advertorials in newspapers or publications in the last year for which figures are available; and what the topic of each was;
	(2)  when he expects to answer Questions  (a) 129957 on publications tabled on 22 March 2007 and  (b) 129955 on advertising and sponsorship tabled on 21 March 2007 by the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire.

Alan Johnson: In financial year 2006-07, the following activity was placed:
	 (a) Sponsorship of supplements in newspapers and publications.
	
		
			   £000 
			  Evening Standard (London Challenge) 60.0 
			  The Guardian (Every Child Matters) (1)120.0 
			  TES (14-19 reforms) 51.4 
			  The Guardian (14-19 reforms 42.0 
			 (1) Covers two supplements in Guardian Education and Guardian Society 
		
	
	 (b) Advertorials in newspapers and magazines.
	
		
			   £000 
			  Kerrang (Student finance) 2.3 
			  NME (Student finance) 15.6 
			  More (Student finance) 9.6 
			  Daily Mirror (Childcare) 13.0 
			  The Voice (Childcare) 1.5

Animal Experiments

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what official information is distributed to schools regarding vivisection.

Jim Knight: The Department has not distributed any information to schools regarding vivisection.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Leicester

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when his Department was informed that the company Centerprise had made the decision not to provide computer equipment in Leicester under the Building Schools for the Future projects.

Jim Knight: The DFES was informed of Centerprise's voluntary withdrawal from providing ICT equipment as part of Leicester's BSF programme on 12 March 2007.

Children: Protection

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on training on multi-agency safeguarding for all services working with parents and children in 2006-07.

Beverley Hughes: The core statutory guidance document 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' sets out the way in which the training and development of staff and volunteers should be undertaken to help them safeguard and promote the welfare of children effectively. The guidance states that it is the responsibility of employers to identify adequate resources and support for multi-agency training. It is the responsibility of the local authorities (LAs), with their partners in children's trusts, and in discussion with the Local Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) to decide, which bodies should commission or deliver the training. In some local areas it is the LSCB themselves who are commissioned to deliver the multi-agency training.
	The Department only has data on this final type of training—delivered by LSCBs themselves. LSCBs were invited to take part in a voluntary survey in December 2006. In those survey returns, planned expenditure on the delivery of training in 2006-07 across those LSCBs for which we have data—around two thirds of all LSCBs in England—totalled around £2 million. If this is representative of all LSCBs then across the whole of England we could expect LSCBs to have spent around £3 million on safeguarding training in 2006-07. However this LSCB expenditure will be only part of the overall expenditure on multi-agency safeguarding training.

City Academies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was of each completed academy; and what contribution was made by the Government to each.

Jim Knight: There are 26 Academies open where construction work has been completed. The cost of each is detailed in the chart. These figures presented are as at May 2007 and are subject to change as final accounts have yet to be agreed.
	
		
			  £ million  (rounded to nearest half million) 
			   Academy  Cost  DfES Contribution 
			 1 Bexley Business Academy(1) 38.5 36 
			 2 Walsall City Academy 17.5 15 
			 3 Greig City Academy, Haringey 16.5 14.5 
			 4 Capital City Academy, Brent 27.5 25.5 
			 5 Lambeth Academy 25.5 23.5 
			 6 King's Academy, Middlesbrough 22.5 20.5 
			 7 Unity City Academy, Middlesbrough 22.0 18.5 
			 8 The West London Academy, Ealing(1) 32.5 30.5 
			 9 Stockley Academy, Hillingdon 28.0 25.5 
			 10 Djanogly City Academy, Nottingham 23.5 23.5 
			 11 The Academy at Peckham, Southwark 30.0 28 
			 12 Bristol City Academy 27.5 25 
			 13 Manchester Academy 20.0 18 
			 14 Mossbourne Community Academy, Hackney 28.5 26.5 
			 15 The Academy of St. Francis of Assisi, Liverpool 21.0 19 
			 16 Northampton Academy 27.5 25.5 
			 17 City of London Academy, Southwark 33.5 31.5 
			 18 Trinity Academy, Doncaster 25.0 23 
			 19 Marlowe Academy, Kent 28.0 25 
			 20 London Academy, Barnet 33.5 32 
			 21 Sandwell Academy 27.0 24.5 
			 22 Grace Academy, Solihull 31.5 29.5 
			 23 Salford City Academy 16.5 15 
			 24 David Young Community Academy, Leeds 23.5 21.5 
			 25 Dixons City Academy, Bradford(2) 6.5 6 
			 26 Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Academy, Lewisham(2) 7.0 6.5 
			 (1 )The Business Academy, Bexley and West London Academy, Ealing are "all through" Academies catering for pupils from age 3 to 19. This cost includes the cost of both the primary school and secondary school. (2 )Dixons and Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham are both conversions from City Technology Colleges.

City Academies: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average private sector capital contribution has been to new city academies established over the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: When the academy programme was launched in 2000, sponsors were required to provide 10 per cent. of the capital costs of a new building up to a maximum of £2 million. We have since moved to an endowment model of sponsorship, and sponsors will, as the norm, establish an endowment fund worth £2 million (or £1.5 million for the fourth or subsequent academy for sponsors of multiple academies). The Department does not distinguish between sponsorship commitments made by private sector donors and those made by charitable organisations.
	There are at present 47 open academies. Of these: two academy trusts had met their full sponsorship commitments before May 2006; one is a former city technology college which is not required to provide sponsorship in the form of a capital contribution; and one is providing sponsorship under the endowment model of sponsorship, leaving a total of 43 academies with commitments to provide a contribution to capital costs.
	Over the 12 months ending 31 May 2007 sponsor contributions to capital costs amounted to £13,202,000, an average of £307,023 over the 43 open academies described above.
	Sponsors' donations contributing to capital costs are normally made over the lifetime of the building costs of the project, so in the majority of cases a number of payments towards capital costs remain to be made.

Departments: Sign Language

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on his departmental website for the benefit of those whose first language is BSL.

Parmjit Dhanda: We always consider the needs of minority audiences, including those for whom BSL is a first language, when developing communications campaigns for external audiences, working closely with the Central Office of Information (COI) Diversity Unit. Decisions about the scale and shape of campaign activity need to reflect our responsibility to get the best possible value for money from our marketing budgets.
	In recent years, we contributed to a cross-Whitehall BSL video magazine, distributed by COI, which has now been discontinued. The increasing public access to digital media has helped us to respond to accessibility issues around provision of our information. We are committed to including all our public information campaigns on our website in plain English, which helps to overcome many barriers for those with impaired hearing.

Departments: Travel Agents

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department and its agencies paid in travel agencies' fees in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: Details of payments of travel agencies' fees incurred by the Department over the last eight years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Hotel contract  Business travel contract 
			 2006/07 169, 864 447,131 
			 2005/06 129,224 422,565 
			 2004/05 142,697 396,225 
			 2003/04 98,107 381,192 
			 2002/03 87,541 385,627 
			 2001/02 100,746 441,353 
			 2000/01 97,738 425,770 
			 1999/2000 92,753 399,975 
		
	
	The Department has engaged an agent to arrange hotel accommodation for DfES staff that stay overnight when on official business. The Department has also engaged an agent to arrange all travel tickets for both domestic and foreign travel. The fees stated above form part of the contract of both agents.
	The Department does not have any executive agencies.

Departments: Westminster City Council

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which grants for which his Department is responsible have been made to Westminster city council since 1997-98; and what the value was of each grant.

Alan Johnson: The grants made to Westminster city council in each year since 1997-98 by this Department, as recorded by the council in the Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns, are as follows.
	
		
			   £000 
			 1997-98  
			 Standards Fund 545 
			 Section 11 (Ethnic Minorities) Grant (excluding SRB) 1363  
			   
			 1998-99  
			 Standards Fund 809 
			 Under-5s Specific Grant 460 
			 Ethnic Minorities Achievement Grant 1,539 
			   
			 1999-2000  
			 Standards Fund 1,879 
			 Nursery Education Grant for four-year-olds 64 
			 Ethnic Minorities Achievement Grant 1,398 
			   
			 2000-01  
			 Standards Fund 3,650 
			 Nursery Education Grant for four-year-olds 47 
			 Provision for three-year-olds 30 
			 Ethnic Minorities Achievement Grant 1,249 
			 Sure Start 2 
			 Child Care and Early Years 360 
			   
			 2001-02  
			 Standards Fund 7,478 
			 Teachers Pay Reform 867 
			 School Standards Grant 1,469 
			 Child Care and Early Years 678 
			 2002-03  
			 Standards Fund 9,555 
			 Nursery Education for three-year-olds 915 
			 Teachers Pay Reform 1,083 
			 School Standards Grant 1,540 
			 Child Care and Early Years 593 
			   
			 2003-04  
			 Child care 865 
			 Excellence in Cities 1,065 
			 School Standards 1,967 
			 Standards Fund 8,223 
			 Teachers' Pay Reform 2,073 
			 Children's Services 5,706 
			   
			 2004-05  
			 Adoption Support and Guardianship Special Orders 189 
			 Choice Protects 246 
			 General Sure Start Grant 15 
			 Education Actions Zones 10 
			 Excellence in Cities 1,119 
			 Safeguarding Children 739 
			 School Standards 2,125 
			 Standards Fund 8,472 
			 Teachers' Pay Reform/Threshold 2,415 
			 Teenage Pregnancy Local Implementation 65 
			   
			 2005-06  
			 Adoption Support and Guardianship Special Orders 314 
			 Choice Protects 530 
			 General Sure Start Grant 3,877 
			 Change Fund 43 
			 Safeguarding Children 862 
			 School Standards 2,286 
			 Standards Fund 10,465 
			 Teachers' Pay Reform/Threshold 2,402 
			 Transforming Youth Work Development Fund 17 
			 Teenage Pregnancy Local Implementation 115 
			   
			 2006-07  
			 Children's Services 901 
			 General Sure Start Grant 2,366 
			 Standards Fund - School Standards Grant 2,420 
			 Standards Fund—Other 8,725 
			 Teenage Pregnancy Local Implementation 140 
		
	
	This table sets out the specific grants inside aggregate external finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services) paid to Westminster and exclude grant outside AEF such as capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities, European funding; or where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area. Revenue support grant and other elements of formula grant (such as redistributed business rates and police grant) have also been excluded.
	Revenue outturn data have been used from 1997/98 to 2005/06 (the last year available) and Revenue Account (RA) data have been used for 2006-07. Dedicated schools grant (DSG) started in 2006/07 and this has been recorded by Westminster council on their RA return. However, it has been excluded from the above table as prior to 2006-07 this funding was part of RSG, and the question excludes the funding from RSG. The Department can confirm that £86,014 of DSG was paid to Westminster in 2006/07.
	There are a number of smaller grants included in an 'Other' category on the revenue returns submitted by local authorities. It is possible that there may be some DfES grants within this category, but it is not possible to identify these separately within the return.

Examinations: Fees and Charges

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what examination fee will be charged to  (a) schools and  (b) further education colleges and institutions for the provision of Diploma examinations in each Diploma subject in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is currently consulting on the principles which should inform the setting of fees for the Diploma.

Free School Meals: Lone Parents

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children entitled to free school meals in  (a) primary schools and  (b) secondary schools lived with a parent who had sole custody in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not held centrally.

Further Education: Finance

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards closing the gap between the average annual per capita funding from Government for full-time equivalent learners aged 16, 17 and 18 years in further education colleges and those in sixth forms; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: As the Secretary of State confirmed in his speech to the Association of Colleges annual conference in November 2006 we have, by 2006/7, reduced the funding gap between school sixth forms and FE colleges for comparable 16 to 18 provision by 5 per cent.. We committed in the FE White Paper to take further steps to narrow this funding gap by a further 3 per cent. by 2008 and beyond that to take steps to narrow the gap further as resources allow. For the longer term we plan to establish common funding arrangements for all 16 to 18 provision with comparable funding for comparable activity, irrespective of the type of institution providing the education and training. Our recent consultation on the creation of a demand led system included proposals for this common 16 to 18 funding approach. We are currently considering responses to the consultation and plan to implement changes in time for the 2008/09 academic year.

Further Education: Finance

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average annual per capita funding from Government for full-time equivalent learners aged 16, 17 and 18 years in  (a) further education colleges and  (b) school sixth forms was in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Bill Rammell: Per capita funding for full-time equivalent 16, 17 and 18-year-old learners in further education colleges in 2005-06 was £5,000. In 2006-07 we estimate this will rise to £5,100 but this will not be confirmed until final student numbers are available later in the year.
	For 16, 17 and 18-year-olds in school sixth forms the level of funding per pupil was £4,900 in 2005-06, this rose to £5,200 in 2006-07.
	Figures for school sixth forms and colleges are not directly comparable as a range of factors affects them including the mix of provision offered, achievement and retention levels and the location in which the provider is based. It is also impossible to get an entirely accurate full time equivalent learner figure for college students whereas for schools, as almost all pupils study full time in sixth forms, the pupil count is precise.
	Data for 2007-08 will not be available until autumn 2007.

Heartease High School

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which company has the contract to develop the programme for the feasibility study on the proposed academy at Heartease high school; how much has been allocated by his Department for the feasibility study; and if he will take steps to ensure that the articles of memorandum of association of the company are freely available before the consultation process is complete.

Jim Knight: Cambridge Education (CE Ltd) has been appointed to manage the feasibility study; the cost of this work is £323,000, which is in line with the average cost of a nine-month feasibility phase on other academy projects. As a limited company the articles and memorandum of association for CE are available from Companies House.

Literacy: Computer Software

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department provides to  (a) local authorities and  (b) schools on the use of reading and literacy software in schools.

Jim Knight: There is extensive guidance on the use of reading and literacy software for local authorities and schools on the TeacherNet website (www.teachernet.gov.uk) for both primary and secondary education. This includes the practical support pack which is an online collection of high quality lesson content, lesson plans, multimedia resources and ICT support materials designed to help teachers develop their teaching practice using ICT. It shows the role that ICT can play in teaching and learning objectives as a practical approach.
	The practical support pack will soon be replaced by a new CPD microsite contained within TeacherNet, called 'Reach'. Reach will contain all of the PSP materials and more within a new design.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average education funding was per pupil in England, broken down by local authority area in each year since 1979.

Jim Knight: The requested information has been placed in the House Library.

Schools: Admissions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parents made appeals against the allocation of their child to a school in each local education authority in each year since 1997; how many of these were upheld; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Data on heard and successful admissions appeals for all local education authorities in England, covering the years 1997-98 to 2005-06, have been placed in the Library.

Schools: Choirs

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have joined the £10 million initiative to encourage choral singing; how many extra students the initiative has assisted; and what proportion of the budget has been spent.

Jim Knight: The £10 million is not being devolved to schools at this stage. There has been huge interest in the national singing campaign and Howard Goodall, the singing ambassador, has received hundreds of messages from schools, organisations and individuals asking how they can become involved or providing details of the work they already do. Plans are being made to allocate the funding to major national initiatives to achieve the widest possible impact. This will include the production of a major song resource to be made available to every school and every child and the training of vocal leaders for schools.

Schools: Church of Scientology

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many schools have contacted his Department for guidance on visits from  (a) Narconon and  (b) the Church of Scientology in the last two years; and what guidance has been issued by his Department;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the success of the Narconon programme in schools;
	(3)  what contact his Department has had with  (a) Narconon and  (b) the Church of Scientology in the last two years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has had no contact with Narconon or the Church of Scientology in the last two years, nor have schools contacted the Department for guidance on visits by these organisations.
	The Department's guidance, "Drugs: Guidance for Schools" (DFES 2004) is clear that teachers should be the main providers of drug education and maintain responsibility for the overall drug education programme in their school. External contributors can be used where they add to the drug education programme a dimension that the teacher alone cannot deliver.
	The Department has not assessed the Narconon drug programme for schools as it is for schools and local authorities to decide whether to use the services of an external contributor to assist with their drug education programme, and if so who this should be.

Schools: Finance

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations he has received in response to the school, early years and 14-16 funding consultation; what assessment he has made of the responses; if he will put a summary of the responses in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: By 1 June 2007, the closing date of the consultation, my Department had received a total of 1,163 representations about our proposals for the school, early years and 14-16 funding arrangements for 2008-11. This includes 651 representations made as part of six campaigns including 542 letters supporting the position of the F40 group of authorities of which the hon. Member for Stafford is chair.
	We are now considering the responses. The final total, including a number received since the closing date, will be set out in a report summarising the responses to the consultation to be published on the TeacherNet website when we announce our decisions on the proposals in the summer. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding was allocated to  (a) special educational needs and  (b) gifted and talented learning in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The requested information has been placed in the House Library.

Swimming: Finance

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is available for schools to access swimming facilities.

Jim Knight: Swimming activities and water safety is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum for physical education in primary schools and schools can choose it as a programme of study in secondary schools. Funding for schools to deliver the National Curriculum is part of their core funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant—£28.3 billion in total in 2007-08.
	In addition, £5.5 million in 2006-08 is being targeted at supporting pupils to reach the Key Stage 2 requirements for swimming, including being able to swim at least 25 metres.

Teachers: Vacancies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teaching posts have been vacant in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of full-time vacant teaching posts in local authority maintained nursery/primary, secondary and special schools in each January from 1997 to 2007. Vacancy rates as a percentage of full-time teachers in post are also included.
	A full-time teacher vacancy refers to a full-time appointment of at least one term's duration that, on the survey date, had been advertised but not filled. Vacancies include those filled on a temporary basis unless filled by someone with a fixed term contract of one term or more.
	
		
			  Full-time vacancy( 1)  rates in local authority maintained schools in England by grade, January of each year 
			   Vacancies as a percentage of teachers in post( 2)  Number of vacancies 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 3)  2007( 3) 
			  Nursery and primary 
			 All vacancies 
			 Number 1,090 1,390 1,370 1,420 2,110 1,800 1,110 780 740 710 660 — 
			 Rate 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.2 1.0 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 — 
			  
			 Grade(4,5) 
			 Head or deputy/ assistant 0.9 1.4 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 230 
			 Head 0.6 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 100 
			 Deputy head/assistant head 1.3 2.0 1.7 1.3 1.8 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.7 130 
			 Classroom teacher 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.2 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 430 
			  
			  Secondary 
			 All vacancies 
			 Number 730 970 940 1,250 2.590 2,450 2,050 1,630 1,550 1.340 1,220 — 
			 Rate 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.7 1.4 1.3 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 — 
			  
			 Grade(4,5) 
			 Head or deputy/ assistant 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.4 80 
			 Head 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.5 1.0 0.9 0.5 20 
			 Deputy head/assistant head 0.7 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 60 
			 Classroom teacher 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.7 1.5 1.4 1.2 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.7 1,130 
			  
			  Special 
			 All vacancies 
			 Number 200 230 220 240 280 290 240 220 190 180 170 — 
			 Rate 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.9 2.2 2.4 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.4 — 
			  
			 Grade(4,5) 
			 Head or deputy/ assistant 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.5 1.7 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.3 40 
			 Head 1.2 1.1 2.0 2.5 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.6 1.2 10 
			 Deputy head/assistant head 2.7 2.7 2.0 2.6 2.3 2.0 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.4 30 
			 Classroom teacher 1.4 1.8 1.6 1.8 2.3 2.6 2.2 2.0 1.7 1.6 1.4 130 
			  
			  Nursery/primary, secondary and special 
			 All vacancies 
			 Number 2,020 2,590 2,530 2,910 4,980 4,540 3,410 2,630 2,480 2,230 2,040 — 
			 Rate 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.4 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 — 
			  
			 Grade(4,5) 
			 Head or deputy/ assistant 1.0 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 350 
			 Head 0.7 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.6 130 
			 Deputy head/assistant head 1.2 1.8 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 220 
			 Classroom teacher 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.4 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 1,690 
			 (1) Advertised vacancies for full-time permanent appointments (or appointments of at least one term's duration). Includes vacancies being filled on a temporary basis of less than one term. (2) Teachers in post include full-time qualified regular teachers in (or on secondment from) maintained nursery and primary schools, plus the primary portion of full-time regular divided service, peripatetic, advisory and miscellaneous teachers. (3) Provisional. (4) The number of teachers in post by grade is from the 618g survey for 2001 onwards, previous years were estimated using the Database of Teacher Records. (5) The role of assistant head was created in 2001.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because of rounding.  Source: 618g survey

Teachers: Training

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students on teacher training courses did not complete such courses in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Jim Knight: The following tables show the number of final year initial teacher training (ITT) trainees for each year between 1998-99 and 2004-05 who did not gain qualified teacher status (QTS) in their final year of training and of these the number who left their course before completion and the number where the outcome of QTS is unknown for:
	1. Mainstream initial teacher training (ITT) trainees
	2. Employment based routes (EBR) trainees
	
		
			  Table 1. Mainstream final year ITT trainees 
			 Number of mainstream final year trainees who have not gained QTS 
			   Total number of mainstream trainees in their final year  Number of mainstream final year trainees gaining QTS  Known not to have completed course  Undefined outcome  Other o utcome  Total 
			 1998/99 27,200 24,070 1,310 460 1,350 3,130 
			 1999/2000 24,650 21,690 1,290 350 1,330 2,960 
			 2000/01 25,720 22,640 1,350 480 1,250 3,080 
			 2001/02 26,350 23,280 1,130 0 1,940 3,070 
			 2000/03 28,570 25,430 1,050 10 2,090 3,140 
			 2003/04 30,970 27,340 1,470 0 2,160 3,630 
			 2004/05 31,360 27,150 1,410 20 2,780 4,210 
			  Notes:  1. Includes trainees from universities and other higher education (HE) institutions, school centred initial teacher training (SCITT) and open universities (OU), but exclude employment based routes (EBR).  2. Numbers are individually rounded to the nearest 10, therefore may not sum.  3. 'Other outcome' includes final year trainees who are yet to complete their course, those with withheld QTS (including those where their skills test was not met, their standards were not met and where both their standards and skills test were not met) and those where the skill test has not been taken (include those whose standards were met and those whose standards were not met).   Source: TDA performance profiles. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Employment based routes (EBR) trainees 
			 Number of EBR final year trainees who have not gained QTS 
			   Total number of EBR trainees in their final year  Number of EBR final year trainees gaining QTS  Known not to have completed course  Undefined outcome  Other o utcome  Total 
			 2001/02 2,440 2,210 30 0 190 230 
			 2002/03 4,030 3,670 340 0 20 360 
			 2003/04 4,950 4,470 440 0 30 470 
			 2004/05 7,220 6,600 260 0 350 610 
			  Notes:  1. Includes trainees through employment based routes (EBR) only.  2. Numbers are individually rounded to the nearest 10, therefore may not sum.  3. 'Other outcome' includes final year trainees who are yet to complete their course, those with withheld QTS (including those where their skills test was not met, their standards were not met and where both their standards and skills test were not met) and those where the skill test has not been taken (include those whose standards were met and those whose standards were not met).   Source:  TDA performance profiles.

Train-to-Gain Programmes

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many employees within the public sector had enrolled in train-to-gain programmes by the end of February 2007 in public sector employers with  (a) fewer that 250,  (b) between 250 and 1,000,  (c) between 1,000 and 5,000 and  (d) more than 5,000 employees.

Phil Hope: holding answer 4 June 2007
	Train to gain is an ongoing service and as such performance is updated on a regular basis. Detailed operational information is not held centrally by the Department but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC); Mark Haysom the LSC Chief Executive has written directly to the hon. Member with the available information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 11 June 2007:
	I am writing in response to your question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills about how many employees within the public sector had enrolled in train to gain programmes by the end of February 2007. In public sector employers with  (a) fewer than 250  (b) between 250 and 1,000,  (c) 1,000 and 5,000,  (d) more than 5,000 employees
	The LSC employer database structure does not report all of the size bands requested. However, the following information should be helpful.
	
		
			  Employer size  Number of learners 
			 1 to 49 5,225 
			 250 to 4,999 2,052 
			 5,000 + 255

Aggressive Pupils

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what  (a) counselling and  (b) legal support has been provided by his Department to teachers in circumstances where aggressive pupils have been physically restrained in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The provision of counselling and legal support is a matter for the local authorities and schools that employ teachers and for teachers' professional associations. Teachers who have been subjected to physical aggression should report incidents to their employer, who has a duty of care to support them.
	The Department has issued new guidance, Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education which gives advice about dealing with allegations against teachers. This came into force on 1 January 2007.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Bees

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated into the contribution of pollination activity by bees to British agriculture since 2000.

Barry Gardiner: A 2001 Economic Evaluation of DEFRA's bee health programme estimated the value of honey bees to commercial pollination at approximately £120 million, although changes in crop areas and values suggest that the value may now be lower. No valuation of the role of honey bees in relation to the pollination of wild plants is available.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in  (a) Gravesham,  (b) Kent and  (c) England have not yet received single farm payments for (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

Barry Gardiner: In England, as of 6 June 2007, 24 claimants have not received a payment for the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS) and approximately 4,400 claimants have not yet received a payment for the SPS 2006.
	Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the Single Payment Scheme is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Bees: Diseases

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the development of Colony Collapse Disorder among honey bees in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Barry Gardiner: The term Colony Collapse Disorder is being used in the USA to describe cases in which some very large scale commercial operations have lost a high percentage of their hives. A wide range of possible causes are being investigated by researchers in the USA. The National Bee Unit at DEFRA's Central Science Laboratory is maintaining close contact with researchers from the USA.
	There have been widely reported, but isolated, cases in the UK in which beekeepers have lost a high percentage of their bee colonies. However, overall percentage losses are similar to previous years, albeit reflecting the gradual increase seen in the last five years.

Bees: Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received in the last three years on funding of research into bees.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA has received a small number of representations in the last three years regarding funding of research into bees.

Biodiversity

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what percentage of  (a) priority habitats and  (b) priority species under the Biodiversity Action Plan are decreasing; and which habitats and species are involved.

Barry Gardiner: There are 373 single species action plans and 45 habitat action plans under the UK biodiversity action plan. These are referred to as the priority species and habitats. Reporting on the status and trends of these priorities is done every three years. The latest available figures are for 2005. The next and final figures before the 2010 biodiversity target will be made available in February 2009. In 2005, the information below was reported:
	175 species (47 per cent.) are either increasing or are stable, which is an improvement on the 2002 figures. Similarly, the number of species assessed as 'declining or lost' fell between 2002 and 2005. For habitats, 35 per cent. are now increasing or stable.
	102 species (27 per cent.) are thought to be declining, but the decline is slowing for 36 species (10 per cent.). Although 17 habitats (39 per cent.) are thought to be declining, this decline is slowing for 11 habitats (25 per cent.).
	 Declining habitats
	Chalk rivers;
	Coastal and floodplain grazing marsh;
	Littoral and sublittoral chalk;
	Sheltered muddy gravels;
	Modiolus modiolus beds;
	Coastal saltmarsh.
	 Declining habitats but slowing
	Fens;
	Lowland dry acid grassland;
	Purple moor grass and rush pastures;
	Eutrophic standing waters;
	Blanket bog;
	Lowland wood-pasture and parkland;
	Upland hay meadows;
	Upland calcareous grassland;
	Lowland calcareous grassland;
	Lowland meadows;
	Limestone pavements;
	
		
			  Declining species  
			 Thlaspi perfoliatum Cotswold Pennycress 
			 Silene gallica Small-flowered Catchfly 
			 Ranunculus tripartitus Three-lobed Water-crowfoot 
			 Pyrrhula pyrrhula Bullfinch 
			 Pallavicinia lyellii Veilwort 
			 Orthotnchum pallens Pale Bristle-moss 
			 Mentha pulegium Pennyroyal 
			 Luronium natans Floating Water Plantain 
			 Liparis loeselii Fen Orchid 
			 Limoniscus violaceus Violet Click Beetle 
			 Juncus pygmaeus Pygmy Rush 
			 Idaea ochrata cantiata Bright Wave 
			 Harpalus froelichi a Ground Beetle 
			 Gentianella uliginosa Dune Gentian 
			 Galium tricornutum Corn Cleavers 
			 Galeopsis angustifolia Red Hemp-nettle 
			 Formica candida Black bog ant 
			 Ditrichum plumbicola Lead-moss 
			 Cicindela sylvatica Heath Tiger Beetle 
			 Cerastium nigrescens Shetland Mouse-ear 
			 Bidessus unistriatus a Diving Beetle 
			 Anostirus castaneus Chestnut coloured click beetle 
			 Eunicella verrucosa Pink Sea-fan 
			 Zygodon gracilis Nowell's Limestone Moss 
			 Weissia multicapsularis Moss 
			 Tetrao tetrix Black Grouse 
			 Streptopelia turtur Turtle Dove 
			 Squamarina lentigera Scaly Breck-Lichen 
			 Sium latifolium Greater Water Parsnip 
			 Sciurus vulgaris Red Squirrel 
			 Schismatomma graphidioides a Lichen 
			 Rheumaptera hastate Argent and sable 
			 Raja batis Common Skate 
			 Potamogeton compressus Grass-wrack Pondweed 
			 Oria musculosa Brighton Wainscot 
			 Muscicapa striata Spotted Flycatcher 
			 Miliaria calandra Corn Bunting 
			 Melanitta nigra Common Scoter 
			 Margaritifera margaritifera Freshwater Pearl Mussel 
			 Lycopodiella inundata Marsh Clubmoss 
			 Lycia zonaria britannica Belted Beauty 
			 Linnaea borealis Twinflower 
			 Leptopsammia pruvoti Sunset Cup Coral 
			 Leptodontium gemmascens Thatch Moss 
			 Juniperus communis Juniper 
			 Jodia croceago Orange Upperwing 
			 Hydroporus rufifrons a Diving Beetle 
			 Heliophobus reticulata Bordered Gothic 
			 Formica rufibarbis Red Barbed Ant 
			 Donacia bicolora a Reed Beetle 
			 Damasonium alisma Starfruit 
			 Cotoneaster integerrimus Wild Cotoneaster 
			 Chrysotoxum octomaculatum a Hoverfly 
			 Chaenotheca phaeocephala a Lichen 
			 Carduelis cannabina Linnet 
			 Caloplaca luteoalba Orange-Fruited Elm-lichen 
			 Calicium corynellum a Lichen 
			 Bryoria smithii a Lichen 
			 Boloria euphrosyne Pearl-bordered Fritillary 
			 Bidessus minutissimus a Diving Beetle 
			 Austropotamobius pajlipes Freshwater White-clawed Crayfish 
			 Aspitates gilvaria gilvaria Straw Belle 
			 Anisus vorticulus Ramshorn snail 
			 Alauda arvensis Skylark 
			 Acrocephalus palustris Marsh Warbler 
		
	
	
		
			  Declining species but slowing  
			 Zygaena loti scotica Slender Scotch Burnet 
			 Woodsia ilvensis Oblong Woodsia 
			 Triturus cristatus Great Crested newt 
			 Tolypella intricata Tassel Stonewort 
			 Segmenting nitida Shining ram's-horn snail 
			 Potamogeton rutilus Shetland Pondweed 
			 Polia bombycina Pale Shining Brown 
			 Plebejus argus Silver-studded Blue 
			 Perdix perdix Grey Partridge 
			 Pechipogo strigilata Common Fan-foot 
			 Ostrea edulis Native Oyster 
			 Osmia xanthomelana a Mason Bee 
			 Odontomyia hydroleon a Soldierfly 
			 Muscardinus avellanarius Dormouse 
			 Mejiicta athaila Heath Fritillary 
			 Lejeunea mandonii Atlantic lejeunea 
			 Jynx torquilla Wryneck 
			 Hemaris tityus Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth 
			 Hammerschmidtia ferruginea a Hoverfly 
			 Graphoderus zonatus Spangled Water Beetle 
			 Formica exsecta Narrow-headed Ant 
			 Eurodryas aurinia Marsh Fritillary 
			 Eristalis cryptarum Bog hoverfly 
			 Enterographa elaborate New Forest beech-lichen 
			 Dicycla oo Heart Moth 
			 Coiietes floralis The Northern Colletes 
			 Coenagrion mercuriale Southern Damselfly 
			 Cephaloziella nicholsonii Greater Copperwort 
			 Carterocephalus palaemon Chequered Skipper 
			 Bufo calamita Natterjack Toad 
			 Athetis paijustris Marsh Moth 
			 Asparagus officinalis ssp. prostratus Wild Asparagus 
			 Asilus crabroniformis Hornet robberfly 
			 Arvicola terrestris Water Vole 
			 Argynnis adippe High Brown Fritillary 
			 Agabus brunneus a Diving Beetle

Bovine Tuberculosis: Compensation

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent policy is on payment of compensation to farmers whose cattle contract tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 11 June 2007
	Since 1 February 2006, compensation in England for bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been determined primarily using table values, which reflect the average sales price of bovine animals in 47 different categories. The categories are based on the animal's age, gender, type (dairy or beef) and status (that is, pedigree or non-pedigree).
	The Government are obliged to pay compensation for cattle that are culled as a result of TB. However, we believe that table valuations provide a fairer balance between the costs that are expected to be carried by the taxpayer and those that are expected to be carried by the farmer than was provided by the previous system of individual valuation.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Testing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to introduce lay testers for bovine tuberculosis following the recent pilot study.

Ben Bradshaw: We are considering how to introduce lay testing for bovine tuberculosis. However, final decisions have still to be taken on whether to proceed.
	Details of the Animal Health pilot study have been circulated and discussed with interested parties. The pilot has demonstrated that lay staff can successfully be trained to carry out this work under veterinary supervision. However, we recognise that extending the principle of lay testing raises some important issues. These need to be fully explored with the veterinary profession and other interested parties before firm proposals can be developed.

BSE: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the scientific rationale is for continuing to cull bovine spongiform encephalopathy cohort cattle.

Ben Bradshaw: A Veterinary Risk Assessment (VRA), published on 21 May 2007, concluded that culling cohorts of cattle affected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) as soon as possible:
	(i) supports the Government's challenging target of eradicating BSE in Great Britain by 2010;
	(ii) promotes consumer confidence in UK beef; and
	(iii) avoids the need for expensive additional control measures to monitor cohorts.
	The VRA is available on the DEFRA website.

Dairy Farming: Republic of Ireland

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the Irish Government's support for rationalisation of its dairy industry on the UK dairy industry.

Barry Gardiner: The Irish Government announced a dairy processing industry investment package in 2006. Following commercial and technical evaluation of the applications, the announcement of grant awards was made in April 2007. A total of 19 capital investment projects were approved and awarded Government grant assistance of €114 million. Industry will fund an additional €172 million to generate an estimated capital spend of €286 million.
	The UK Government have made no assessment of the impact on the UK dairy industry as the details of the proposals have only recently been announced. Proposals for research to assess the impact will be evaluated alongside competing proposals in line with Government's priorities. It is, of course, open to the UK dairy sector to fund its own research into the likely effects of the Irish dairy package so that it can respond appropriately.

Departments: Carbon Emissions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methodology is used by his Department to account for its carbon emissions.

Barry Gardiner: The information requested is as follows.
	 1. Carbon emissions from buildings
	Carbon emissions from buildings are calculated from total kilowatt hour energy use (electricity and fossil fuel) in all buildings on the estate. Conversion factors to convert kilowatt hours into tonnes carbon/carbon dioxide are provided by the Sustainable Development Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) return.
	 2. Carbon emissions from travel
	Carbon emissions from official travel within DEFRA are calculated using engine size, total mileage and fuel type. Conversion factors to convert fuel type into tonnes carbon dioxide are provided by the Sustainable Development Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) return.

Departments: Guildford

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the planned date is for the closure of his Department's site at Epsom Road, Guildford.

Barry Gardiner: The planned date for closure of the Epsom road, Guildford site is 30 December 2007.

Departments: Guildford

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to ensure that its site at Epsom road, Guildford is replaced with a residential development that  (a) is low or zero carbon and  (b) meets high environmental standards.

Barry Gardiner: The Department is conscious that any development scheme for which planning consent is submitted should comply with all available sustainable energy and environmental standards.
	The Department confirms that the application for planning that is to be submitted is for residential property and as such will attract the relevant policy (SE2) within the Surrey structure plan relating to sustainable energy and the level three standard for sustainable homes as detailed by Department for Communities and Local Government.

Departments: Guildford

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department and its representatives have had with Guildford borough council on placing tree protection orders on trees at the Department's site at Epsom road, Guildford.

Barry Gardiner: The Department and its agent have had extensive discussions with Guildford borough council's Trees and Woodlands Officer. The officer is satisfied that there is no threat to the trees under the Department's planning proposal and no Tree Preservation Orders have been made.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff funded by the public purse in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science are classified as people without posts.

Barry Gardiner: No staff in CEFAS are classified as people without posts.

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate has been made of the value of his Department's property portfolio.

Barry Gardiner: The most recent valuation of the Department's property portfolio was on 1 April 2005. The estimated total value at that date was £490,224,550.

Departments: Publicity

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on advertising by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: From its inception in 2001 to 2003-04, the Department did not record separate advertising costs as part of its overall communications expenditure. The figures for key advertising campaigns from 2004-05 are as follows.
	
		
			   Advertising campaign  Amount (£) 
			 2004-05 Personal food imports 92,343 
			 2005-06 Personal food imports 94,278 
			 2006-07 Personal food imports 81,732 
			 2005-06 Avian flu 185,976 
		
	
	The Department undertakes all of its advertising through the COI's rosters of advertising agencies.

Domestic Wastes: Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 81W, on Domestic Wastes: Waste Management, whether a local authority within a group of authorities that has chosen to pass its waste collection functions to a joint waste authority (JWA) will be able to leave the JWA unilaterally and take back responsibility for waste collection.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 March,  Official Report, column 1641W.

Domestic Wastes: Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place a copy of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) 2005 guidance on alternate weekly collections in the Library.

Ben Bradshaw: The Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) 2005 guidance on alternate weekly collection of waste is currently being updated and has been withdrawn. Copies of the new guidance will be placed in the House Library as soon as it is available.

Environment Protection: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional ongoing funding and resources have been given to local authorities to implement the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department does not provide any additional funding to local authorities to implement the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (CNEA).
	A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) published in July 2004 concluded that, taken as a whole, the measures introduced in the CNEA do not involve significant additional costs for local authorities. Indeed, the RIA concluded they could well lead to overall savings in local authority costs through increased efficiency and effective, well publicised enforcement.
	Local authorities themselves asked for these new powers to combat the minority who continue to fly-tip, drop litter and behave in an antisocial manner and the Government have now provided them.
	In most cases, local authorities also have the flexibility to set their own fixed penalty rates for offences under the Act and, since November 2003, have been able to retain receipts from fixed penalties issued for local environmental crimes. Poor performing local authorities must re-direct this money into their street cleansing service, although those awarded an 'excellent' or 'good' rating are free to use the penalty receipts as they wish.
	Comprehensive guidance has been issued to all local authorities to help them implement the CNEA. This includes specific guidance on developing an enforcement strategy and making the most effective use of available enforcement tools. DEFRA has also produced guidance on how local authorities can make efficiency savings in street cleansing and related services. Copies of all guidance can be downloaded from DEFRA's website.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which quota swaps he has made to support the inshore under-10 metre fleet in each month since January 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: Fisheries Administrations regularly undertake quota swaps to support the diverse needs of our inshore fleet. The following table sets out details of the numbers of quota swaps undertaken on their behalf by Fisheries Administrations since January 2005. The monthly breakdown relates to the month the swaps were attributed to the 10 metre and under allocation:
	
		
			   March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December  End year swaps  Total 
			  2005 
			 Tonnes gained — 137 37 136 338 172 343 135 171 134 47 1,650 
			 Number of swaps — 15 3 5 25 7 18 9 11 3 9 105 
			  
			  2006 
			 Tonnes gained 10 741 258 163 64 194 165 85 78 134 144 2,036 
			 Number of swaps 1 13 16 17 4 14 18 7 10 18 23 141 
			  
			  2007 
			 Tonnes gained — 700 117 (1)12 — — — — — — — 829 
			 Number of swaps — 19 16 (1)2 — — — — — — — 37 
			 (1) Completed as of 12 June 2007.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his  (a) Scottish,  (b) Welsh and  (c) Northern Ireland counterparts on the Marine Bill since May 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA Ministers will meet Ministers from the new administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss a range of issues, including the Marine Bill, in the week commencing 18 June.
	As with the previous administrations, there will continue to be regular contact on the Marine Bill between DEFRA and the devolved administrations. I am committed to working with the devolved administrations to bring a joined-up approach, through the Marine Bill proposals, to the delivery of our shared vision for clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he intends to discuss the quota situation for the inshore under 10 metre fleet with his European counterparts at the forthcoming Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting.

Ben Bradshaw: No. The arrangements for allocating quota to inshore and other vessels are a matter for individual member states. In the UK the management of the inshore fleet, including these vessels' access to quota, is being considered in the context of the current quota management change programme, with a view to public consultation later this year.

Fisheries

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration he has given to instituting a days at sea formula for the inshore under 10 metre fleet fishing inside the 12 mile limit.

Ben Bradshaw: The issue of the application of days at sea limits to under 10 metre vessels has already been considered in the context of the cod recovery plan. The conclusion at Community level was that this was not appropriate, since the large number of these vessels in the UK and other fleets made both the administration and enforcement of the controls potentially extremely difficult and resource intensive. We were supportive of this line and remain so.

Fisheries: Carbon Emissions

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the carbon footprint of the inshore under 10 metre fishing fleet.

Ben Bradshaw: Shipping from UK based vessels in territorial waters, is included in the UK greenhouse gas inventory, under national navigation. DEFRA does not produce specific figures on emissions from the fishing industry.

Fisheries: Devon

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration he has given a Devon-based scheme for the inshore, under 10 metre fleet.

Ben Bradshaw: Future management arrangements for the inshore fleet are being considered in the context of the UK's current quota management change programme. Issues being examined include access to quota and fleet capacity: the case for region-specific measures, for example in terms of localised management, may also be addressed.

Fishing Catches

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the tonnage of fish which was  (a) landed and  (b) caught and thrown back because of quota allowances by inshore under 10 metre fishing vessels in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2006, the UK 10 metre and under fleet landed 7,286 tonnes of fish subject to quotas. Estimates of the level of fish discards are made by scientists involved in the assessment of the state of fish stocks. However, these are made at the level of the overall fish stock rather than for individual segments of the fleet. In addition, such estimates are not made for the full range of fish stocks caught by the 10 metre and under fleet. As such, an estimate of the level of discards attributable to this fleet is not available.

Fly Tipping: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many incidents of fly-tipping were reported in each London borough in each of the last four years; and what the estimated cost was of dealing with such incidents;
	(2)  how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) successful prosecutions there were in each London borough for fly-tipping in each year since 2004; and how much has been recovered through related fines in each London borough.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 June 2007
	Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database was set up in 2004 by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association, to record the number of fly-tipping incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and local authorities.
	The following tables show the number of incidents and prosecutions recorded by each local authority in Greater London on Flycapture for 2004-2005 and 2005-06. Data recorded in square brackets have been reported by the Environment Agency, who deal only with larger-scale fly-tipping incidents. Data for 2006-2007 are not yet available but will be published in the summer.
	Flycapture does not record details of any costs awarded to local authorities by courts following successful prosecutions.
	
		
			  Greater London Flycapture  d ata for 2004-05 
			  London borough  Total number of incidents  Estimated clearance costs recorded  Number of prosecutions taken to court  Number of successful prosecutions 
			 Corporation of London 171 9,132 0 0 
			 London Borough of Barking and Dagenham No Data Supplied (11) No Data Supplied (2,841.83) No Data Supplied No Data Supplied 
			 London Borough of Barnet 5,726 (14) 273,780 (4,050) 16 15 
			 London Borough of Bexley Council 175 (5) 263,90 (1,170) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Brent 969 (17) 33,037 (2,625) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Bromley 1,913 (5) 157,848.31 (635) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Camden 24,287 (2) 704,323 (150) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Croydon 6,801 (5) 427,877 (505) 2 2 
			 London Borough of Ealing 1,848 (13) 52,375 (2,102.50) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Enfield 2,509 (91 122,050 (1,920) 9 9 
			 London Borough of Greenwich 156 14) 17,930 (325) 4 4 
			 London Borough of Hackney 63 (8) 1,827 (865) 2 2 
			 London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 8,099 (7) 381,327 (1,527.50) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Haringey 52,006 (2) 1,508,358 (210) 1 1 
			 London Borough of Harrow 248 (8) 8,333 (775) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Havering 4,943 (6) 284,200 (580) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Hillingdon 2,128 (11) Data not Supplied (4,592.31) 4 (2) 2 (2) 
			 London Borough of Hounslow 5,824 (9) 151,929 (1,625) 0 (1) 0 (1) 
			 London Borough of Islington 5,196 (5) 232,872 (557.50) 2 2 
			 London Borough of Lambeth 13,783 (2) 404,591 (150) 24 24 
			 London Borough of Lewisham 20,171 (4) 1 ,441 ,300 (350) 48 47 
			 London Borough of Merton 5,155 (8) 272769 (585) 5 5 
			 London Borough of Newham 9,069 (11) 584,741 (1,532.50) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Redbridge 5,864 (5) 299,575 (640) 2 2 
			 London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames 899 (2) 39,91 1 (355) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Southwark 23,006 (1) 994,263 (360) 40 34 
			 London Borough of Sutton 227 (5) 13,319 (583.56) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Tower Hamlets 3,109 (6) 144,998 (862.50) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Waltham Forest 8,304 (7) 539,174 (647.50) 1 1 
			 London Borough of Wandsworth No Data Supplied No Data Supplied No Data Supplied No Data Supplied 
			 Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 39,677 1,428,542 6 6 
			 Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames No Data Supplied (1) No Data Supplied (105) No Data Supplied No Data Supplied 
			 Westminster City Council 8295 (2) 338,678 (210) 0 0 
			 Totals 260,621 10,895,449.31 166 156 
			 EA Totals 195 33,707.70 3 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Greater London Flycapture  d ata for 2005-06 
			  London borough  Total number of incidents  Estimated clearance costs recorded  Number of prosecutions taken to court  Number of successful prosecutions 
			 Corporation of London 675 31,899 0 0 
			 London Borough of Barking and Dagenham 3,481 (1) 234,117 9 8 
			 London Borough of Barnet 4,843 (7) 236,961(3,750) 32 (1) 32 (1) 
			 London Borough of Bexley Council 407 (2) 43,809 (187.50) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Brent 5,233 (4) 311,456 1 1 
			 London Borough of Bromley 4,697 (2) 342,797.90 0 0 
			 London Borough of Camden 170,28 (1) 493,812 (75) 6 6 
			 London Borough of Croydon 8,355 (2) 372,734 (75) 3 3 
			 London Borough of Ealing 9,044 (8) 263,076 (150) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Enfield 5,772 (11) 312,835 (6,750) 4 (7) 4 (7) 
			 London Borough of Greenwich 3,233 (2) 124,582 (280) 8 8 
			 London Borough of Hackney 770 (2) 2,5508 (300) 1 1 
			 London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 6,017 (1) 528,014 0 0 
			 London Borough of Haringey 63,767 (3) 1,849,243 (150) 11 11 
			 London Borough of Harrow 3,843 (4) 171,150 0 0 
			 London Borough of Havering 9,629 (3) 529,783 (150) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Hillingdon 2,384 (4) 14,596 (225) 39 (2) 39 (2) 
			 London Borough of Hounslow 7,345 (4) 210,972 (375) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Islington 8,812 (2) 459,431 16 16 
			 London Borough of Lambeth 10,434 (2) 307,672 (75) 31 31 
			 London Borough of Lewisham 18,987 (3) 941,536 (215) 64 64 
			 London Borough of Merton 3,330 (3) 190,121 (225) 9 9 
			 London Borough of Newham 3,527 401,100 0 0 
			 London Borough of Redbridge 4,455 184,582 6 6 
			 London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames 1,771 (1) 95,709 (75) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Southwark 24,852 (1) 1 ,089,995 49 39 
			 London Borough of Sutton 2,762 (2) 152,555 (70) 5 5 
			 London Borough of Tower Hamlets 5,681 (1) 217,502 (75) 4 4 
			 London Borough of Waltham Forest 8,566 (2) 385,563 (75) 0 0 
			 London Borough of Wandsworth 166,195 (1) 3,655,746 8 8 
			 Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 58,374 1 ,876,596 2 2 
			 Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames No Data Supplied No Data Supplied No Data Supplied No Data Supplied 
			 Westminster City Council 10,365 (2) 420,222 0 0 
			 Total 484,634 16,475,674.9 308 297 
			 EA Totals 81 13,277.50 10 10

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to answer the letter dated 27 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Ms Wendy Owen.

Ben Bradshaw: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend's letter. A response was issued on 8 June.

Packaging: Waste Disposal

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of packaging used for fresh produce which is  (a) recycled and  (b) disposed of in landfill sites.

Ben Bradshaw: Food-related packaging makes up an estimated 18-20 per cent. of household waste and around 3.3 per cent. of the controlled waste which is sent to landfill(1). No estimate is currently available of the proportion of food packaging waste landfilled or recycled specifically relating to sales of fresh produce.
	However, the Packaging Regulations, which place requirements on obligated businesses to recover and recycle a certain amount of the packaging waste they handle, have so far helped to raise the UK packaging recycling rate from around 27 per cent. in 1997 to around 56 per cent. in 2006. In real terms, the total amount of packaging waste recovered or recycled has increased from 3.3 million tonnes in 1998 to around 6.3 million tonnes in 2006.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme is currently working with all leading supermarkets through the Courtauld Commitment to achieve a standstill, and then a reduction, in the amount of packaging waste. A number of retailers are considering the role that the selling of loose fruit and vegetables could make to those objectives, without increasing the amount of damaged produce which is then discarded.
	(1) Figures are based on estimates of waste composition contained in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit 2002 report, Waste Not Want Not, and information from WasteDataFlow for 2005-06.

Recycling: Business

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of recycling by businesses in each region in England.

Ben Bradshaw: The most recent survey on industrial and commercial waste was carried out in 2002-03 by the Environment Agency. Information was collected from approximately 4,500 businesses and included the type, quantity and form of the waste, as well as the disposal or recovery method used. Data collection was limited to controlled waste and related to England only. The information is available, broken down by region, from the Environment Agency's website and is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Management of commercial and industrial waste 
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Disposal/recovery option 
			  Region  Land disposal  Land recovery  Re-used/  recycled  Thermal  Treatment and transfer  Not recorded  Total per subregion 
			  Industry
			 East Midlands 2,550 152 2,555 145 170 198 5,771 
			 East of England 857 193 1,461 202 271 272 3,256 
			 London 482 6 1,027 88 89 210 1,902 
			 North East 1,293 76 1,671 181 104 76 3,400 
			 North West 1,867 269 1,669 226 317 154 4,502 
			 South East 1,310 63 1,257 192 345 414 3,581 
			 South West 802 114 1,174 63 256 179 2,589 
			 West Midlands 1,457 74 2,133 135 277 170 4,246 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,574 377 4,588 89 507 204 8,339 
			 Total 13,194 1,324 17,536 1,321 2,335 1,877 37,589 
			 
			  Commerce
			 East Midlands 1,178 33 863 113 67 69 2,322 
			 East of England 1,389 24 1,248 111 287 248 3,308 
			 London 2,520 21 2,281 285 215 282 5,604 
			 North East 589 5 408 121 30 45 1,199 
			 North West 2,035 90 1,245 133 241 88 3,833 
			 South East 2,547 59 1,565 223 354 523 5,271 
			 South West 1,549 62 1,051 47 188 70 2,967 
			 West Midlands 1,457 6 1,221 99 140 97 3,019 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,261 20 1,221 64 153 78 2,797 
			 Total 14,524 320 11,104 1,196 1,675 1,500 30,320 
			 
			 Grand total 27,718 1,645 28,640 2,518 4,011 3,377 67,907 
			  Source: C and I survey 2002-03: England region and disposal/recovery option.

Recycling: Licensing

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many licences have been issued by the Environment Agency for green waste recycling centres in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency (EA) does not have a specific category for green waste recycling centres. As of 8 June 2007, the EA's records show a total of 211 licensed composting facilities and 524 licensed civic amenity/household waste sites, which generally accept green waste from the public.
	In 1998-99, there were 108 EA licensed composting sites and 458 licensed civic amenity/household waste sites. A breakdown of the number of licences issued per year is not available.
	The number of composting facilities processing green waste has steadily increased since 1998, in line with the Government's strategy to promote the reuse, reduction and recycling of waste.

Smoking: Public Places

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department and its agencies have made of the likely effect of the public smoking ban on levels of cigarette litter in public places.

Ben Bradshaw: Smoking-related litter is one of the most prevalent types of litter. Each of the last three local environmental quality surveys of England showed that smokers' materials were present on 79 per cent. of survey sites. Without action, the introduction of smoke free legislation in July this year is likely to increase this problem. However, the Government are taking steps to tackle this form of littering through a combination of regulatory options, partnership work, guidance and awareness-raising.
	Smoking-related materials were clarified as litter in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, in order to encourage greater enforcement against this offence. Street litter control notices may also be issued by local authorities where there is a significant problem with litter on the street. Notices can be used to place requirements on the occupiers (or owners) of premises to take steps to reduce litter outside their premises, such as the installation of litter bins.
	Following a consultation that closed on 8 May, DEFRA is also extending these provisions to allow notices to be issued for eating and drinking establishments where food is consumed on the premises. A legislative opportunity will be sought to extend the list of premises further to include office buildings, aimed particularly at helping to deal with smoking litter dropped by customers and employees. This forms part of a package of tools already available to local authorities for tackling litter problems, including the use of on-the-spot fixed penalty notices for individuals caught dropping litter.
	In order to raise public awareness, the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign, run by Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS), launched a poster campaign earlier this month to encourage all smokers and businesses to take responsibility for cigarette ends, with posters appearing on bus stops, billboards and telephone boxes across England. A number of councils across the country are supporting the campaign.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been provided by the Waste and Resources Action Programme to each local authority in England since the inception of the programme; and what the purpose was of each item of funding.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is currently being collated by the Waste and Resources Action Programme. I will write again to the hon. Member when it has been prepared and place a copy in the Library of the House.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Azerbaijan: Ballistic Missile Defence

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is in response to President Putin's suggestion at the G8 summit that a ballistic missile defence system could be based in Azerbaijan.

Geoff Hoon: President Putin's offer to include the radar at Qabala in Azerbaijan in the US ballistic missile system is a policy issue for the United States government and is subject to the agreement of the government of Azerbaijan. The UK, however, welcomes this constructive Russian approach; and welcomes the US's continuing commitment to discuss with Russia its co-operation in their ballistic missile system.

British Nationality: Armed Forces

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the policy of the Government is towards UK citizens who  (a) join the official armed forces of foreign states engaged in military operations abroad and  (b) join armed organisations not under the direction of a state which are engaged in military operations abroad.

Kim Howells: There are no restrictions on UK citizens joining the armed forces of a foreign state other than those related to the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870. This Act makes it an offence for a British subject without licence from Her Majesty the Queen to enlist in the armed forces of a foreign state at war with another foreign state, which is at peace with the UK.
	There is no general restriction on UK citizens joining armed organisations that are not under the direction of a state. However, in certain circumstances, a UK citizen engaging in military-style operations as part of such an organisation might be in breach of, and hence liable to prosecution under, specific UK legislation. A case in point would be counter terrorist legislation, which enables the prosecution of those who commit terrorist offences overseas.

Departments: Advertising

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much revenue her Department received from  (a) advertisements in her Department's public information leaflets and  (b) advertisements on her Department's public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not receive any revenue from advertisements placed in public information leaflets or on the FCO's websites in the United Kingdom. Some overseas posts may receive advertising revenue from their own publications or websites, but this information is not held centrally and to obtain the information from each post would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Sign Language

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on her departmental website for the benefit of those whose first language is BSL.

Geoff Hoon: We have made no formal assessment of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office websites. There are, however, plans to translate two pages of our travel advice into BSL for our Deaf Awareness Day this year (18 September) as an initial trial.

Libya: Foreign Relations

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will meet the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government at an early date to discuss the implications of the recently signed memorandum of understanding between the UK and Libya.

Kim Howells: Officials in Government Departments are consulting with their counterparts in the Scottish Executive, according to the principles set out in the memorandum of understanding with the devolved administrations of 2001. It sets out how the Government and the devolved administrations should interact in the conduct of international relations.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department's policy is on the Arab League's peace plan for Israel and Palestine of 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Arab League's re-endorsement of the 2002 Beirut Declaration at the Arab Summit in Riyadh is a welcome step. The Arab League has a key role to play in promoting reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians and moving forward the peace process. We support the Arab League's engagement with the parties and welcome the meetings since the re-endorsement of the Arab League Initiative.
	The Arab Peace Initiative offers Israel comprehensive peace with all member states of the Arab League. In exchange, it calls on Israel to withdraw fully from all territories occupied since 1967; to agree to a just resolution of the refugee problem; and to accept a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Any final status issues will need to be negotiated directly between the parties. The Arab Peace Initiative offers a framework to move towards these discussions.

Pakistan: Human Rights

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will raise with the Government of Pakistan the case of Younis Masih, a Christian who has been sentenced to death under section 295C of the Pakistan penal code; and if she will urge the Pakistani authorities to ensure that he is able to access a fair appeals process and proper protection to prevent attacks from extremists while he is appealing the sentence.

Kim Howells: We do not usually raise individual cases and have not recently made any representations to the Pakistani authorities concerning Younis Masih. However, we are aware of this case and regularly raise our concerns about the treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan both bilaterally and with our EU partners. We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.

Pakistan: Human Rights

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will raise with the Government of Pakistan the case of four female student nurses, a member of staff and the Principal at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Nursing School who have been suspended on suspicion of desecration of the Koran; and if she will urge the Pakistani authorities immediately to reinstate them and to ensure that there is an independent inquiry into the matter.

Kim Howells: Although we do not usually raise individual cases, we regularly raise our concerns over the situation of religious minorities with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently, in May, we again voiced our concerns over the treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan, together with our EU partners.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to urge the Pakistani authorities to address extremism and threats to religious minorities.

Kim Howells: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Musharraf reiterated in their joint declaration in November 2006, the UK and Pakistan share a common agenda to promote enlightened moderation and to combat the forces of extremism. To this end, the two leaders agreed to support civil society and youth interaction between Pakistan and the UK. We fully appreciate the personal risks taken by President Musharraf when he took his position against extremism.
	Bilaterally and together with EU partners, we continue to regularly raise our concerns with the government of Pakistan over the situation of religious minorities. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade (Mr. McCartney) also raised this issue in correspondence with the Pakistani Prime Minister in February.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the government of Pakistan on the treatment of Christians in Charsadda and other parts of the North West Frontier Province.

Kim Howells: I am aware of the continuing problems faced by minority groups in Pakistan, including the Christian community in the North West Frontier Province. We regularly raise our concerns with the government of Pakistan, bilaterally and together with our EU partners, and will continue to encourage Pakistan to pursue its vision of enlightened moderation for the benefit of all its citizens.

Palestinian Authority: Finance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the revenue of the Palestinian National Authority for the financial year 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Palestinian Authority is facing a severe fiscal crisis in 2006-07, mainly caused by a collapse in revenues. This fall has largely occurred as Israel has withheld the revenues, such as VAT receipts and customs payments, that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. These resources typically made up around a third of the Palestinian Authorities domestic revenues and have been withheld since March 2006. Precise figures for the amounts are not available but the International Monetary Fund recently estimated they may be in the order of US$750 million. Other sources of tax finance have also fallen as a consequence of the broader collapse in economic activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. External funding from donors (including to the Palestinian Authority and the Office of the President) has risen since 2005 but this has been insufficient to offset the reductions elsewhere. Overall revenues for 2006 are estimated at US$1.4 billion, down from almost US$2.2 billion in the previous year. The EU has provided more financial assistance (over 680 million) to the Palestinian people in 2006 than it did in previous years. During financial year 2006-07 the UK gave over 70 million to the Palestinian people, 30 million bilaterally and an additional 40 million through our EU contributions.

Sailesh Vithlani

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions her Department has had with Sailesh Vithlani since 1 January 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: No Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers or officials have had any discussions with Sailesh Vithlani since 1 January 2007.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia since 1997; what representations her Department has made to Saudi Arabia on human rights issues since 1 May 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We regularly discuss the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia with the Saudi authorities at all levels. Human rights are also raised on our behalf by the European Union, which has decided to keep the details of these discussions confidential.
	We are committed to encouraging Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record and adhere to international human rights standards. The hon. Member may also welcome the recent increase in activities by the National Society on Human Rights (NSHR). In May 2007 the NSHR published its first annual report on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, since it was established in 2004. This is a significant step forward.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration she has made of the merits of the proposal to impose a no-fly zone in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: We are considering a number of measures to improve air monitoring in Darfur, from enhanced monitoring on the ground to a no-fly zone and we rule out nothing. We need to assess the logistical challenges of implementation and impact on the humanitarian effort of any measures. We are working with partners in the UN Security Council to press both the African Union and the Panel of Experts to notify the UN Sanctions Committee of any instances of offensive military flights in Darfur.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the international community's policies on the imposition of sanctions on the Sudanese Government with regard to the conflict in Darfur; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We believe sanctions have contributed towards containing the crisis in Darfur, for example in the Government of Sudan's acceptance of the UN's Heavy Support Package to the African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan. However, we want a solution to the crisis which may require further sanctions.
	We are concerned that sanctions should not impact on those in Sudan who have no responsibility for violence in Darfur, or on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, thus damaging the south. We are therefore pressing for further targeted sanctions on individuals and an extension of the UN arms embargo from Darfur to all of Sudan, in line with the EU embargo, if the Government of Sudan and the rebel movements fail to honour their commitments.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what budget and support the Government are providing to the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: The UK is a leading provider of financial support to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). We have committed 373 million since AMIS was set up in July 2004. UK funds have helped to provide the force with vehicles, ground fuel and airlift of troops into Darfur, as well as funding for personnel costs such as troop salaries. We also contribute through the EU Africa Peace Facility that has so far committed 242 million to AMIS and is about to commit an additional 40 million. We are also pressing for others to do more.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government plan to send troops to Darfur as part of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force.

Ian McCartney: The UK will be a strong supporter of the African Union (AU)-UN hybrid force, both politically and financially through our contributions to UN assessed funding for peacekeeping, currently set at 7.9 per cent. of the total. We are providing police and military advisers to assist the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) with planning for the hybrid operation. We have also deployed a military officer to Sudan to assist with the transition from the AU Mission in Sudan to the hybrid force. We will consider requests for troop contributions as and when we receive them from DPKO. The details of the force have now been agreed between the AU and UN and we are pressing the Sudanese Government to accept them and facilitate its deployment. A significant part of that agreement is that troops should be to the greatest possible extent contributed by African states.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the United Nations on democracy in Zimbabwe.

Ian McCartney: The Government's concern relating to human rights abuses, governance and democracy in Zimbabwe were most recently raised this week at the fifth session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The EU and UK asked a number of questions of the UN special rapporteurs on the rights to food and housing concerning the impact of the denial of both for the human and political rights of ordinary Zimbabweans. In March, 50 UN member states supported a statement at the Human Rights Council by the EU presidency, on behalf of all EU member states, expressing concern at the situation in Zimbabwe. The UK also continues to raise these concerns in dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and to press for her and other UN rapporteurs to have access to Zimbabwe. Other recent discussions with the UN have taken place with senior officials in the Department for Humanitarian Affairs, following on from the briefing in March to the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe which was given by the Office of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs at the UK's request. Our embassy in Harare is in regular discussion with the UN Development Programme Office regarding human rights, democracy and good governance.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Anti-semitism

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-semitic attacks were recorded in the UK in each year since 2001.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally in the recorded crime series.
	The recorded crime statistics only hold data for racially or religiously aggravated offences as defined by statute. Specific details relating to the victim or alleged offender are not collected.

Antisocial Behaviour

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1422W, on ultrasonic antisocial behaviour deterrent devices, if he will place in the Library copies of the report from the Health and Safety Executive.

Vernon Coaker: The information from the Health and Safety Executive concerning the safety of the mosquito device derives from a letter written to the Welsh Assembly from the HSE. I have placed a copy in the Library.

Arrests

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of arrest rates for police officers.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 June 2007
	Information is not collected centrally on arrest rates. Numbers of arrests are collected on a recorded crime basis only.

Asylum

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision will be made in the case of Mr. Minnain Privat Aristide Henri's outstanding asylum application, which was submitted in March 2004.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency wrote separately to my hon. Friend in relation to this matter on 7 June 2007.

Asylum Seekers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of outstanding case files for asylum seekers held by his Department,  (b) the number of those of whose whereabouts his Department knows and  (c) the time he expects it to take to clear the backlog at present rates.

Liam Byrne: The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (now Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency) wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February and updated them on, among other matters, the legacy programme. A copy of her letter is in the House Library.

Asylum: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are living in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex.

Liam Byrne: Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives.
	The following table shows the number of asylum seekers recorded as receiving asylum support in Eastbourne and the local authorities within East Sussex as at the end of March 2007. This figure excludes those asylum seekers who are living in these local authorities but are not receiving support.
	The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support, broken down by Government office region and local authority, are published on a quarterly and annual basis. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	Further breakdowns of those in receipt of support, by parliamentary constituency, are also available from the Library of the House.
	
		
			  Local authority  In dispersed accommodation  In receipt of subsistence only support  Total in receipt of support 
			 Brighton and Hove 15 40 55 
			 Eastbourne  20 20 
			 Hastings 60  60 
			 Lewes
			 Rother
			 Wealden
			 Total 75 60 135 
			  Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

Asylum: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of failed asylum seekers were removed from Northern Ireland in each of the last six years.

Liam Byrne: As the Home Secretary set out in his evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 23 May 2006, following the dismantling of embarkation controls beginning in 1994, no Government have been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally, and that remains the case. The Home Secretary has set a clear goal of reintroducing systems to count everyone in and out of Britain.

Bokhari Family

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much time he spent considering the case against the deportation of the Bokhari family; what evidence he was given on the case by his Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials; and whom he consulted in making his decision.

Liam Byrne: The decision to remove a person from the United Kingdom (UK) is only taken after full and careful consideration of individual circumstances and in accordance with Home Office guidelines. When a decision is to be made by the Secretary of State personally, he is provided with all available evidence and is fully briefed by Border and Immigration Agency officials.

Cleveland Police

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police time was spent on front-line duties by Cleveland Police in each year since 2001, broken down by basic command unit.

Tony McNulty: Information on time spent by police officers on front-line duties has only been collected since 2003-04 and is not available at basic command unit level. The available data for the Cleveland Police for each year since March 2004 is set out in the following table. The Cleveland Police has set a target for 69.9 per cent. of police officer time to be spent on front-line duties by March 2008.
	
		
			  Cleveland Policetime spent on front-line duties 
			   Percentage of police officer time spent on front-line duties 
			 2003-04 58.50 
			 2004-05 53.60 
			 2005-06 55.20

Departments: Complaints

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints were received by his Department and its executive agencies in  (a) 1997-98,  (b) 2001-02 and  (c) 2005-06; and how many have been received in 2006-07 to date.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office does not record complaints received in writing or over the telephone. These separately are received and recorded as part of overall correspondence figures. Once received, all correspondence including any complaints is either sent to individual policy units to be dealt with or is dealt with centrally. They are not tracked separately.
	The Identity and Passport Service recorded 8,597 complaints in 2005-06 and 9,410 complaints in 2006-07.
	Since 2001, the Borders and Immigration Agency have been recording complaints about the misconduct of staff, and recorded 555 complaints in 2001-02; 240 complaints in 2005-06 and 326 complaints in 2006-07. During 2005-06, the Border and Immigration Agency also began recording operational complaints (about service delivery). The figure for 2006 is 8,966.
	Border and Immigration Agency are planning a complete overhaul of the system under their complaints change programme.

Departments: Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government have a strategy to protect Government websites from  (a) denial of service and  (b) other cyber attacks.

Tony McNulty: The Government's Central Sponsor for Information Assurance within the Cabinet Office is responsible for the Government's strategy to protect the public sector and those services forming the Critical National Infrastructure from cyber attacks.
	CESG (the Information Assurance arm of GCHQ) is the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance and develops Government advice for protecting data in partnership with the Central Sponsor for Information Assurance and advises on its implementation. CESG manages the Government's UK computer emergency response team heads of Departments and agencies are individually responsible for engaging with CSIA/CESG to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect against any risks to business continuity.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department has provided to HM Treasury as part of the comprehensive spending review policy review of counter-terrorism and security.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office continues to exchange information with HM Treasury on matters relating to the development of the comprehensive spending review 2007. It is not appropriate to comment in detail on these exchanges.

Departments: Sign Language

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on his departmental website for the benefit of those whose first language is BSL.

Liam Byrne: We have not made an assessment. The vast majority of our content is text and is therefore read by the hearing impaired. Any video content has a textual transcript attached.

Departments: Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone helplines are sponsored by his Department with the prefix  (a) 0870 and  (b) 0845; and whether alternative geographic numbers are available in each case.

Liam Byrne: The number of telephone lines with the prefix 0870 and 0845 used by the Home Office was printed in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 8 June 2007,  Official Report, column 672W. Of the 63 listed, 27 (42.9 per cent.) have geographic alternatives.

Departments: Websites

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which Government websites he is responsible; how many visitors each received in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the cost  (a) was of establishing and  (b) has been of maintaining each site.

Liam Byrne: Since publication of the Transformational Government Strategy in November 2005, the Home Office has been actively engaged in developing an e-communications strategy that centralises the operation and management of all Home Office websites.
	The names of all sites managed by the Home Office, as per the Transformational Government annual report published December 2006, will be placed in the Library of the House.
	In May 2007, following the handover of 13 websites to the new Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Home Office reported:
	52 closing sites (39 already earmarked for closure and a further 13 moving to MOJ)
	33 remaining of which:
	One is the main Home Office departmental site
	10 are sub-domains of this site
	Three agencies
	15 NDPBs
	One inspectorate
	Three extranets
	Of these websites, only about half are managed by the central Home Office web team. The others are all operated by the web team or agency of the Home Office entity, agency or NDPB responsible.

Departments: Westminster City Council

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which grants for which his Department is responsible have been made to Westminster city council in each year since 1997-98; and what the value was of each grant.

Liam Byrne: The grants made to Westminster city council in each year since 1997-98 by this Department, as recorded by the council in the Communities and Local Government Revenue returns, are as follows.
	
		
			  Grants  000 
			  1997-98  
			 Asylum seekers: various grants 7,166 
			   
			  1998-99  
			 Asylum seekers: various grants 10,403 
			   
			  1999-2000  
			 Asylum seekers 12,912 
			   
			  2000-01  
			 Asylum seekers 15,394 
			   
			  2001-02  
			 Asylum seekers 12,987 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Asylum seekers 12,454 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Asylum seekers 8,948 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Asylum seekers 5,697 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Asylum seekers 3,698 
			 Young People Substance Misuse Partnership 527 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Asylum seekers 1,373 
			 Young People Substance Misuse Partnership 458 
		
	
	This table sets out the specific grants inside aggregate external finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services) paid to Westminster and excludes grants outside AEF such as capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities, European funding; or where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area. Revenue support grant and other elements of formula grant (such as redistributed business rates and police grant) have also been excluded.
	Revenue outturn data have been used from 1997-98 to 2005-06 (the last year available) and revenue account data have been used for 2006-07.

Deportation: Sudan

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last conducted an in-country assessment of Sudan in relation to the safety of rejected asylum seekers from Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information about the conditions in Sudan including the security situation is obtained from a wide range of governmental and non-governmental sources, human rights organisations and the media. This information is utilised by case owners responsible for decision making on asylum claims and is published in regularly updated Home Office country of origin information reports. The latest country of origin information report on Sudan was published in January 2007 and can be accessed on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/country_reports.html.
	An updated report containing the most recent information available will be published later this month.

Drugs: Crime

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-related offences have been committed in each police authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Data collected centrally on recorded crime do not identify whether offences are drug related. The recorded crime statistics do include the number of specific drug offences which are given in the tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Drug offences recorded by the police1997 
			  Police force area  Number 
			 Avon and Somerset 484 
			 Bedfordshire 223 
			 Cambridgeshire 205 
			 Cheshire 635 
			 Cleveland 227 
			 Cumbria 222 
			 Derbyshire 302 
			 Devon and Cornwall 637 
			 Dorset 183 
			 Durham 404 
			 Dyfed-Powys 374 
			 Essex 401 
			 Gloucestershire 210 
			 Greater Manchester 1,051 
			 Gwent 389 
			 Hampshire 770 
			 Hertfordshire 215 
			 Humberside 444 
			 Kent 790 
			 Lancashire 554 
			 Leicestershire 309 
			 Lincolnshire 235 
			 London, City of 46 
			 Merseyside 694 
			 Metropolitan Police 4,695 
			 Norfolk 337 
			 Northamptonshire 286 
			 Northumbria 445 
			 North Wales 238 
			 North Yorkshire 171 
			 Nottinghamshire 373 
			 South Wales 525 
			 South Yorkshire 535 
			 Staffordshire 389 
			 Suffolk 333 
			 Surrey 163 
			 Sussex 695 
			 Thames Valley 566 
			 Warwickshire 136 
			 West Mercia 436 
			 West Midlands 828 
			 West Yorkshire 1,807 
			 Wiltshire 191 
			 Total 23,153 
			  Note: Prior to April 1998, 'trafficking in controlled drugs' was the only drug offence included in the recorded crime series. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Drug offences recorded by the police1998-99 to 2001-02 
			  Police force area  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,145 2,017 1,990 1,860 
			 Bedfordshire 1,141 1,081 896 1,009 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,166 1,011 829 798 
			 Cheshire 2,470 1,854 1,644 1,591 
			 Cleveland 1,120 992 952 1,109 
			 Cumbria 1,621 1,360 949 925 
			 Derbyshire 1,689 1,659 1,374 1,635 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,873 3,784 3,374 4,079 
			 Dorset 1,102 1,379 1,237 1,390 
			 Durham 1,388 1,259 1,207 1,317 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,483 2,030 1,690 2,407 
			 Essex 2,312 2,421 2,208 2,212 
			 Gloucestershire 1,152 1,285 1,293 1,223 
			 Greater Manchester 5,439 4,919 4,932 4,698 
			 Gwent 2,447 2,214 2,196 1,729 
			 Hampshire 4,195 4,155 3,464 3,449 
			 Hertfordshire 1,197 1,180 1,441 1,350 
			 Humberside 1,639 1,534 1,342 1,513 
			 Kent 3,891 3,644 2,940 3,051 
			 Lancashire 4,117 3,135 3,124 3,169 
			 Leicestershire 1,433 1,478 1,395 1,705 
			 Lincolnshire 1,229 975 906 1,116 
			 London, City of 504 357 296 469 
			 Merseyside 5,620 4,838 4,421 4,390 
			 Metropolitan Police 32,152 26,233 23,626 26,204 
			 Norfolk 1,534 1,561 1,160 1,211 
			 Northamptonshire 1,285 1,157 967 958 
			 Northumbria 3,934 4,209 4,238 4,804 
			 North Wales 1,885 1,586 1,427 1,382 
			 North Yorkshire 1,560 1,408 1,259 1,491 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,004 1,846 2,028 2,070 
			 South Wales 2,934 2,690 3,038 3,907 
			 South Yorkshire 3,983 3,614 3,521 3,408 
			 Staffordshire 1,915 1,650 1,623 2,186 
			 Suffolk 1,581 1,410 1,178 1,292 
			 Surrey 1,557 1,510 1,858 1,872 
			 Sussex 2,235 2,323 2,002 2,602 
			 Thames Valley 3,838 3,635 3,364 4,093 
			 Warwickshire 683 776 629 659 
			 West Mercia 2,393 2,137 2,073 2,109 
			 West Midlands 7,180 6,536 7,519 7,578 
			 West Yorkshire 6,720 5,852 4,820 4,297 
			 Wiltshire 1,199 1,172 1,028 1,076 
			 Total 135,945 121,866 113,458 121,393 
			  Note: The introduction of the revised counting rules in April 1998 expanded the offence coverage. This included the addition of 'possession of controlled drugs' and 'other drug offences'. These data are not comparable with earlier years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Drug offen ces recorded by the police2002-03 to 2005- 06 
			  Police force area  2002- 03  2003- 04  2004- 05  2005- 06 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,308 2,457 2,739 4,642 
			 Bedfordshire 1,069 1,130 1,131 1,228 
			 Cambridgeshire 904 1,047 1,174 1,442 
			 Cheshire 1,717 1,695 1,546 1,748 
			 Cleveland 1,685 1,368 1,451 1,822 
			 Cumbria 1,038 1,189 1,321 1,576 
			 Derbyshire 1,877 1,932 2,023 1,680 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4,516 4,826 4,356 4,147 
			 Dorset 1,371 1,455 1,577 1,703 
			 Durham 1,289 1,205 1,062 1,299 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,978 2,420 2,327 2,495 
			 Essex 2,377 2,295 2,328 2,889 
			 Gloucestershire 1,311 1,288 1,218 1,352 
			 Greater Manchester 5,667 5,981 6,703 8,843 
			 Gwent 1,585 1,422 1,332 1,412 
			 Hampshire 3,938 3,967 3,773 4,037 
			 Hertfordshire 1,553 1,678 1,754 2,044 
			 Humberside 1,883 1,874 2,048 2,127 
			 Kent 3,236 2,795 2,170 2,713 
			 Lancashire 4,084 3,640 3,411 3,245 
			 Leicestershire 1,629 1,821 1,942 2,747 
			 Lincolnshire 1,060 1,061 951 1,230 
			 London, City of 790 744 876 1,023 
			 Merseyside 5,419 5,497 5,649 11,952 
			 Metropolitan Police 33,311 32,332 33,011 42,681 
			 Norfolk 1,392 1,508 1,602 1,821 
			 Northamptonshire 979 971 1,477 1,394 
			 Northumbria 6,040 5,414 4,636 5,159 
			 North Wales 1,830 1,830 1,834 2,120 
			 North Yorkshire 1,582 1,624 1,690 1,915 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,352 2,830 2,667 3,301 
			 South Wales 3,872 3,837 3,705 3,483 
			 South Yorkshire 3,448 3,191 3,013 3,283 
			 Staffordshire 2,264 2,586 2,689 3,242 
			 Suffolk 1,689 1,923 1,974 2,015 
			 Surrey 1,934 1,689 1,904 1,787 
			 Sussex 2,665 3,050 3,343 4,276 
			 Thames Valley 4,903 5,404 6,167 7,515 
			 Warwickshire 751 944 914 1,313 
			 West Mercia 2,053 2,218 2,278 2,537 
			 West Midlands 8,828 8,656 7,840 10,035 
			 West Yorkshire 5,015 5,295 5,666 6,739 
			 Wiltshire 898 971 1,066 1,340 
			 Total 141,090 141,060 142,338 175,352 
			  Note: Numbers of recorded crime were affected by changes in reporting and recording following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These data are not comparable with earlier years.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discretionary powers are available to him to permit individuals to enter the UK in exceptional circumstances.

John Reid: Normally any request to enter the United Kingdom must be made within a category within the Immigration Rules. However, it is possible to grant someone limited leave to enter the United Kingdom under the category of 'Leave Outside the Rules'.
	There are two circumstances in which Leave Outside the Rules will be considered in non-asylum and non-protection cases:
	where someone qualifies under one of the immigration policy concessions; or
	for reasons that are particularly compelling in circumstance.
	There are currently 25 immigration policy concessions which are outlined in chapter 1, section 14 of the Immigration Directorate Instructions, which may be found at:
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
	Cases where there are particular compelling circumstances will be considered on their individual merits and in line with any relevant policy at that time. The decision to grant leave outside the rules in such cases will only follow in rare circumstances where there are genuinely compassionate and circumstantial reasons and no other option is available.

Firearms: Crime

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms offences have been committed in each police authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Crimes recorded by the police in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used, by police force area: England and Wales 1997 to 2005-06 
			  Recorded crime 
			  Police force area  1997  1998-99( 1)  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02( 2)  2002-03( 3)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  North East Region  
			 Cleveland 18 20 26 16 24 18 45 37 41 
			 Durham 17 13 40 18 19 16 15 21 18 
			 Northumbria 78 76 107 99 86 103 169 182 137 
			   
			  North West Region  
			 Cheshire 22 32 22 44 50 31 44 61 71 
			 Cumbria 8 11 5 13 9 13 11 26 18 
			 Gtr. Manchester 620 647 875 935 1,361 1,240 1,275 1,268 1,200 
			 Lancashire 71 50 78 59 103 66 58 259 372 
			 Merseyside 127 286 240 278 299 318 483 491 485 
			   
			  Yorkshire and the Humber  
			 Humberside 83 76 61 69 63 68 68 174 108 
			 North Yorkshire 28 11 8 9 28 18 23 13 15 
			 South Yorkshire 80 75 114 129 170 153 127 185 301 
			 West Yorkshire 162 193 191 335 332 333 269 318 355 
			   
			  East Midlands Region  
			 Derbyshire 69 52 65 72 58 73 75 149 109 
			 Leicestershire 48 98 71 58 74 174 141 123 89 
			 Lincolnshire 5 16 19 24 22 37 26 90 72 
			 Northamptonshire 40 54 48 40 55 107 123 113 128 
			 Nottinghamshire 120 112 173 157 204 264 233 305 277 
			   
			  West Midlands Region  
			 Staffordshire 36 23 53 108 116 131 108 144 128 
			 Warwickshire 20 20 14 39 53 62 102 73 76 
			 West Mercia 36 38 36 41 54 48 62 151 115 
			 West Midlands 428 407 664 816 1.289 1,101 1,138 959 946 
			   
			  East of England Region  
			 Bedfordshire 43 46 56 48 82 86 89 94 103 
			 Cambridgeshire 34 35 43 31 49 57 34 50 34 
			 Essex 58 47 61 77 98 148 145 193 280 
			 Hertfordshire 45 30 36 36 69 139 138 139 114 
			 Norfolk 20 34 24 20 26 36 33 23 29 
			 Suffolk 5 15 18 22 15 28 45 59 58 
			   
			  London Region 1,960 2,034 2,945 3,036 4,197 4,202 3,891 3,697 3,884 
			   
			  South East Region  
			 Hampshire 29 38 52 49 58 97 130 148 85 
			 Kent 100 76 109 108 60 64 65 100 142 
			 Surrey 31 35 42 52 40 34 88 63 87 
			 Sussex 107 115 119 110 155 136 82 67 85 
			 Thames Valley 109 96 107 198 267 362 421 437 401 
			   
			  South West Region  
			 Avon and Somerset 55 71 103 100 131 119 123 196 167 
			 Devon and Cornwall 40 75 81 64 52 36 84  174 
			 Dorset 25 11 12 14 34 17 45 49 27 
			 Gloucestershire 23 22 21 23 89 92 108 87 77 
			 Wiltshire 19 19 10 13 26 60 53 49 43 
			   
			  Wales  
			 Dyfed Powys 13 16 13 26 26 17 37 40 21 
			 Gwent 19 26 19 11 18 52 74 85 53 
			 North Wales 19 27 10 6 6 18 11 60 88 
			 South Wales 34 31 52 67 56 74 47 104 71 
			   
			 England and Wales 4,904 5,209 6,843 7,470 10,023 10,248 10,338 10,882 11,084 
			 (1) There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. (2) Numbers of some recorded crimes may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (3) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this

Identity Cards

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1407W, on identity cards, what estimate he has made of the total savings from the cost of identity fraud which will be realised as a result of the introduction of identity cards in each of the first five years following their introduction.

Joan Ryan: A precise estimate of the impact of identity cards in combating identity fraud is difficult to quantify. However, in the Identity Cards Scheme Benefits Overview, published in June 2005:
	http://www.identitycards.gov.uk/downloads/2005-06-27_Identity_Cards_Scheme_Benefits_Overview.pdf
	it was estimated that the benefits arising from reduced fraud overall would be in the range of 310 million to 570 million per annum once the identity cards scheme is rolled out.

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the confiscation of identity cards once issued.

John Reid: The circumstances under which an ID card must be surrendered are set out in section 11, subsections (3) and (4), of the Identity Cards Act 2006. In particular, someone who is in possession of an ID card without lawful authority would be required to surrender the card as soon as is practicable to do so and a person who is in possession of an ID card that had expired, been cancelled or was invalid may be required to surrender it.

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to how those with diseases such as Alzheimer's will be accommodated within the identity card application and issuing system, with particular reference to informed consent.

John Reid: The Identity Cards Act 2006 has been designed to allow for flexibility in the identity card application process. For example, in the case of an applicant who was unable to give informed consent or to sign an application form, it would be possible to provide in regulations for an authorised third party to make an application on the person's behalf, as happens currently with passport applications.

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make provision for those physically unable to travel to interview centres in the identity card issuing system.

John Reid: The Identity Cards Act 2006 has been designed to provide flexibility in the identity card application process. Regulations will be able to allow the Identity and Passport Service to accommodate the special needs of applicants, such as those unable to travel, either by making special arrangements or excluding particular individuals from the normal requirements.

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account has been taken of those individuals who work under a professional name in the development of the identity cards system.

John Reid: Schedule 1 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 sets out the information that may be held on the national identity register (the register will include details of those persons issued with identity cards). This information includes a person's full name, together with names by which a person is or has been known. It will therefore be possible for an alternative name, such as a stage name or maiden name, to be registered.

Illegal Immigrants: Faroe Islands

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of whether illegal migrants are avoiding border checks at ports by entering Scotland via the Faroe Islands.

Liam Byrne: All passengers arriving from the Faroe Islands at Lerwick are subject to immigration control.
	An additional route to Scrabster becomes operational on 18 June and all passengers arriving there will also be subject to immigration control.
	Border and Immigration Agency officials advise there is no evidence to support speculation that this route is used for clandestine entry to the UK.

Immigrants

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process applications for indefinite leave to remain.

Liam Byrne: Following the IND review there is an ongoing programme of improvement activity across the whole of the Border and Immigration Agency including all migration casework areas. Resources have been diverted to some areas where backlogs exist in order to improve performance.

Immigrants: Unemployment

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department provides any support to unemployed  (a) A2 and  (b) A8 nationals who have come to the UK to work but who do not have access to benefits as they have not completed 12 months of work.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency does not provide support to unemployed A2 and A8 nationals who have come to the UK to work but who do not have access to benefits as they have not completed 12 months of continuous employment in the UK. In work and contributory benefits are available to some migrants who meet the relevant DWP tests.
	As for all EEA nationals, migrants from the A8 and A2 countries that come to the UK are expected to be self-sufficient if they are not working or self-employed.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the staff/detainee ratio is at  (a) Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre,  (b) Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre,  (c) Dover Immigration Removal Centre,  (d) Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre,  (e) Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre,  (f) Haslar Immigration Removal Centre,  (g) Lindholme,  (h) Oakington,  (i) Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre and  (j) Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

Liam Byrne: The staff to detainee ratios at the contracted out immigration removal centres are shown in the following table.
	Any part of an operating contract can be changed through the 'Notice of Change' process which can be initiated by either side. This allows changes in operating circumstances to be recognised and resources added or reduced according to need, usually following informal consultation. This process is regularly used and contractors are fully familiar with it.
	The agency does not provide guidance on staff to detainee ratios to HM Prison Service as they have vast experience in operating custodial environments.
	
		
			  Ratio security staff to detaineesIRC estate 
			  Centre  Ratiodetainees per officer 
			  Campsfield 7.6 
			 (1) Day shift 15.2 
			 (2) Night shift  
			   
			  Colnbrook  
			 (1) Early shift 10 
			 (2) Late shift 8.7 
			 (3) Night shift 17.8 
			 (4) Mid shift 26.3 
			   
			  Dungavel  
			 (1) Day shift 5.5 
			 (2) Night shift 9.1 
			   
			  Oakington  
			 (1) Day shift 6.5 
			 (2) Night shift 8.8 
			   
			  Tinsley  
			 (1) Day shift 5.5 
			 (2) Night shift 9.1 
			   
			  Yarl's Wood  
			 (1) Weekdays 11.6 
			 (2) Weekends 13.06 
			   
			 Harmondsworth (1) 
			 (1) Average across all shifts converts to 16.7 detainees per officer

Immigration: Judgments

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been issued to immigration officers in light of the ruling by the House of Lords in  (a) Huang and  (b) Kashmiri  v . Secretary of State for the Home Department.

John Reid: The House of Lords ruling related specifically to the considerations given by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT). This advised that, when assessing proportionality, the AIT was required to weigh up all relevant competing considerations and was not required to establish that the circumstances of a case were truly exceptional in order to find that removal would give rise to an unlawful interference with article 8 rights. As no specific findings were made to considerations given by immigration officers, no general guidance has been issued. Where article 8 claims are made the Border and Immigration Agency do consider all factors raised.

National Policing Improvement Agency

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the National Policing Improvement Agency since becoming fully operational on 1 April.

Tony McNulty: The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) began its work on 1 April this year and its published Business Plan for 2007-08 includes 15 delivery statements reflecting the strategic priorities of the Police Service and of the tripartite partners in policingthe Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Association of Police Authorities (APA) and the Home Office. Some good progress has already been made on a number of these, for example:
	The national strategic assessment has been completed and will now be used as a key underpin for the NPIA's work.
	The IMPACT programme has successfully progressed to the stage where it can now proceed with the procurement of the first stage of the police national database.
	Leadership: a major review of the entirety of the NPIA's leadership approach and training has been completed. The next step is to bring the work on leadership and workforce strategy together.
	Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS): There is now a nominated senior lead in each force for SCAS. ACPO and NPIA will bring them together to agree a renewed national approach to maximising the way the service is used.
	Diversity impact assessment: an impact assessment of the DMA database is underway and NPIA is working closely with the Commission of Racial Equality (CRE) on this work.
	There has also been progress in other areas of NPIA's work. Key performance indicators have been established for both the external and internal strategic priorities of the organisation. The Chief Executive will be providing regular reports of performance and issues facing the Agency.

North Wales Police

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police time was spent on front-line duties by North Wales Police in each year since 2001.

Tony McNulty: Information on time spent by police officers on front-line duties has only been collected since 2003-04. The available data for the North Wales Police for each year since March 2004 is set out in the following table. The North Wales Police has set a target for 66.6 per cent. of police officer time to be spent on front-line duties by March 2008.
	
		
			  North Wales Policetime spent on front-line duties 
			   Percentage of police officer time spent on front-line duties 
			 2003-04 53.34 
			 2004-05 63.37 
			 2005-06 63.50

Offenders: Deportation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners were transferred to immigration removal centres  (a) before the end of their sentence and  (b) after the end of their sentence in each of the last five years, broken down by the number of weeks before or after their sentence that the transfer occurred.

John Reid: The information requested is not available.
	Foreign national prisoners are only transferred into the Border and Immigration Agency's removal estate when their sentences have expired.

Offensive Weapons: Custodial Treatment

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people convicted of carrying a knife in each of the last three years were given  (a) a non-custodial sentence and  (b) a custodial sentence;
	(2)  how many people convicted of carrying knives received the maximum custodial sentence available in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested, for England and Wales, for the years 2003 to 2005, is contained in the table.
	Court proceedings statistics for 2006 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Persons( 1)  sentenced for offences of carrying knives or offensive weapons, by outcome, England and Wales 
			  Offence  Statute  Year  Total persons sentenced  Non-custodial sentence  Custodial sentence  Persons given maximum custodial sentence( 2) 
			 Having an article with a blade or point in a public place Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec 139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 3 2003 5,311 4,556 755 1 
			   2004 5,802 4,999 803  
			   2005 5,957 4,992 965 1 
			
			 Having an article with a blade or point on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec139A(1) and (5)(1) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 2003 88 82 6  
			   2004 106 94 12  
			   2005 45 40 5  
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons(3) without lawful authority or reasonable excuse Prevention of Crime Act 1953 sec 1 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 2(1) 2003 5,394 4,634 760  
			   2004 5,758 4,941 817  
			   2005 5,689 4,860 829 2 
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons(3) without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec139A(2) and (5)(b) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 2003 21 17 4  
			   2004 33 29 4  
			   2005 30 27 3  
			 (1) Principal offence basis. (2) Two years for blade or point offences and four years for offensive weapon offences. (3) Will include knives but information collected centrally does not provide a distinction between them and other offensive weapons.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office

Personation

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what role the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee has undertaken in relation to the Confidential Access website; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had on the Confidential Access website;
	(3)  what categories of information his Department holds on the Confidential Access website.

Joan Ryan: holding answers 7 and 11 June 2007
	I will write to the hon. Member on these issues.

Police: Career Structure

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were promoted to the rank of chief inspector in each of the last three years; and what proportion were  (a) members of an ethnic minority, broken down by ethnic minority, and  (b) female.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 June 2007
	 The available data are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officers promoted to chief inspector rank (headcount) by ethnicity( 1)  and gender from 2003-04 to 2005-06( 2) 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Number of promotions 486 376 331 
			 
			 Percentage of female promotions from total 10.5 14.6 14.8 
			 Percentage of ethnic minority promotions from total 3.3 3.2 3.6 
			 
			  Relative proportion of ethnic minority promotions as a percentage of total ethnic minority promotions( 3)
			 Mixed 12.5 41.7 50.0 
			 Black or black British 31.3 16.7 16.7 
			 Asian or Asian British 50.0 33.3 33.3 
			 Chinese or other 6.3 8.3 0.0 
			 (1) There were also a number of cases where the ethnicity of the officer was not stated. (2) Data refer to the number of officers (headcount) promoted during the year. (3) Rounded percentages that may not sum to total.

Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) full-time police officers and  (b) police community support officers in each police authority are suspended on full pay as a result of (i) criminal allegations and (ii) other allegations made against them; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 June 2007
	 This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) who have oversight of the police complaints system.

Police: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average police precept on Band D council tax bills was in  (a) England,  (b) Wales and  (c) England and Wales in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2007-08.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her question on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1639W.

Police: Road Traffic

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget for roads policing in each police force was in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of the force's total budget each figure represents.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Religiously Aggravated Offences

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidents of religion-based hate crimes there have been against victims who were  (a) Muslim,  (b) Jewish and  (c) Christian in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally in the recorded crime statistics. The crime statistics have data for racially or religiously aggravated offences as defined by statute but details of the victims of religious-based hate crimes are not available.

Road Traffic Act 1988

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988; what representations he has received since this section came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 was inserted by the Road Safety Act 2006 and came into effect in February 2007. I have received no specific representations on this provision.
	Section 41D provides for the punishment of offences relating to construction and use requirements in respect of having proper control of a vehicle and a full view of the road ahead or to use of a hand-held mobile phone or similar device while driving. Breach of any construction and use requirement was already an offence. This section makes specific provision for breach of these particular requirements by introducing a heavier penalty of obligatory endorsement, with disqualification at the court's discretion if the matter goes to court, or a fixed penalty of 60.
	Enforcement of the provision is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. The likelihood of detection has been increased by the increasing numbers of police, including the deployment on roads of teams involved in the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition equipment (ANPR). They can stop vehicles to deal with offences as the result of direct observation as well as an ANPR hit. The dangers of mobile phone use and the penalties associated with the offence are the subject of a publicity campaign by the Department for Transport.

Sexual Offences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sexual offences were committed in each police authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The available data relate to sexual offences recorded by the police and are given in the tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Sexual offences recorded by the police1997 
			  Police force area  1997 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,000 
			 Bedfordshire 344 
			 Cambridgeshire 390 
			 Cheshire 728 
			 Cleveland 253 
			 Cumbria 229 
			 Derbyshire 528 
			 Devon and Cornwall 808 
			 Dorset 396 
			 Durham 341 
			 Dyfed-Powys 337 
			 Essex 740 
			 Gloucestershire 240 
			 Greater Manchester 1,634 
			 Gwent 470 
			 Hampshire 1,222 
			 Hertfordshire 290 
			 Humberside 758 
			 Kent 770 
			 Lancashire 928 
			 Leicestershire 585 
			 Lincolnshire 329 
			 London, City of 46 
			 Merseyside 906 
			 Metropolitan Police 7,558 
			 Norfolk 487 
			 Northamptonshire 332 
			 Northumbria 562 
			 North Wales 480 
			 North Yorkshire 262 
			 Nottinghamshire 882 
			 South Wales 587 
			 South Yorkshire 611 
			 Staffordshire 544 
			 Suffolk 400 
			 Surrey 499 
			 Sussex 766 
			 Thames Valley 731 
			 Warwickshire 223 
			 West Mercia 751 
			 West Midlands 1,226 
			 West Yorkshire 1,637 
			 Wiltshire 355 
			 Total 33,165 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Sexual offences recorded by the police1998-99 to 2001-02 
			  Police force area  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 821 759 930 1,095 
			 Bedfordshire 344 402 382 354 
			 Cambridgeshire 431 418 464 560 
			 Cheshire 625 379 423 384 
			 Cleveland 369 414 354 442 
			 Cumbria 200 224 168 199 
			 Derbyshire 556 546 527 651 
			 Devon and Cornwall 876 936 911 960 
			 Dorset 314 306 327 434 
			 Durham 243 251 238 333 
			 Dyfed-Powys 317 292 304 292 
			 Essex 877 975 852 887 
			 Gloucestershire 344 323 348 267 
			 Greater Manchester 2,142 2,258 2,154 2,466 
			 Gwent 452 503 440 437 
			 Hampshire 1,066 1,384 1,455 1,453 
			 Hertfordshire 321 348 397 392 
			 Humberside 743 717 694 816 
			 Kent 924 872 974 1,003 
			 Lancashire 879 754 936 992 
			 Leicestershire 764 800 651 753 
			 Lincolnshire 393 325 281 414 
			 London, City of 31 21 10 33 
			 Merseyside 1,019 935 982 1,018 
			 Metropolitan Police 8,102 9,189 8,759 9,924 
			 Norfolk 508 415 364 509 
			 Northamptonshire 306 287 271 340 
			 Northumbria 943 983 891 1,030 
			 North Wales 334 373 406 466 
			 North Yorkshire 297 294 289 346 
			 Nottinghamshire 949 987 985 1,046 
			 South Wales 715 581 552 541 
			 South Yorkshire 654 645 624 605 
			 Staffordshire 566 760 818 924 
			 Suffolk 405 389 421 486 
			 Surrey 579 505 653 547 
			 Sussex 911 1,003 1,029 1,034 
			 Thames Valley 879 1,002 1,010 1,099 
			 Warwickshire 194 169 181 199 
			 West Mercia 618 585 537 806 
			 West Midlands 1,985 2,319 2,521 2,985 
			 West Yorkshire 1,774 1,806 1,464 1,532 
			 Wiltshire 404 358 334 378 
			 Total 36,174 37,792 37,311 41,432 
			  Note: 1. The introduction of the revised counting rules in April 1998 expanded offence coverage. These data are not comparable with earlier years 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Sexual offences recorded by the police2002-03( 1)  to 2005-06 
			  Police force area  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,570 1,516 1,914 1,533 
			 Bedfordshire 465 516 622 688 
			 Cambridgeshire 694 736 766 799 
			 Cheshire 537 696 927 979 
			 Cleveland 519 767 805 725 
			 Cumbria 214 293 337 358 
			 Derbyshire 882 920 1,160 1,117 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,149 1,336 1,564 1,527 
			 Dorset 498 579 689 802 
			 Durham 341 362 397 694 
			 Dyfed-Powys 274 434 503 440 
			 Essex 1,165 1,296 1,347 1,371 
			 Gloucestershire 409 403 539 670 
			 Greater Manchester 2,819 3,200 3,470 3,319 
			 Gwent 486 404 560 548 
			 Hampshire 1,810 2,034 2,658 2,701 
			 Hertfordshire 553 644 971 983 
			 Humberside 1,095 1,269 1,403 1,413 
			 Kent 947 1,220 1,766 1,900 
			 Lancashire 1,069 1,337 1,632 1,505 
			 Leicestershire 960 1,000 1,372 1,361 
			 Lincolnshire 583 636 816 703 
			 London, City of 34 30 50 55 
			 Merseyside 1,277 1,284 1,442 1,390 
			 Metropolitan Police 10,410 10,200 10,860 10,293 
			 Norfolk 676 774 889 1,474 
			 Northamptonshire 608 544 642 633 
			 Northumbria 1,371 1,360 1,496 1,431 
			 North Wales 555 569 666 628 
			 North Yorkshire 448 502 557 637 
			 Nottinghamshire 978 1,055 1,294 1,343 
			 South Wales 717 714 866 1,054 
			 South Yorkshire 851 938 1,382 1,543 
			 Staffordshire 963 1,025 1,323 1,306 
			 Suffolk 588 641 620 664 
			 Surrey 598 585 820 765 
			 Sussex 1,148 1,201 1,801 1,655 
			 Thames Valley 1,469 1,618 2,096 2,123 
			 Warwickshire 277 349 435 382 
			 West Mercia 923 949 1,139 1,014 
			 West Midlands 3,033 3,207 3,470 3,483 
			 West Yorkshire 2,106 2,343 2,351 2,522 
			 Wiltshire 558 584 525 580 
			 Total 48,627 52,070 60,942 61,111 
			 (1 )The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced in May 2004 altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences, in particular, it redefined indecent exposure as a sexual offence.  Note: 1. Numbers of recorded crime were affected by changes in reporting and recording following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These data are not comparable with earlier years.

Counter-terrorism: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what counter-terrorist exercises took place in East Sussex in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Since 2002, the Home Office has sponsored two table-top (non-live play) exercises, in March 2004 and in December 2006, and one live-play exercise (in conjunction with Surrey police) during March 2007 (Exercise LION'S KEEP), in Sussex. Details of other locally organised counter-terrorism exercises in which Sussex may have taken part during this period are not held centrally by the Home Office.

Vehicle Crime Reduction Team

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effect that the decision to close the Vehicle Crime Reduction team will have upon rates of theft of  (a) motorcycles and  (b) motorcycle parts; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what considerations were taken into account before taking the decision to close down the Vehicle Crime Reduction Team; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The decision to wind down the Home Office Vehicle Crime Reduction Team was taken as part of the Home Office Reform Programme and in the context of developing a new strategic approach to crime reduction.
	We do not believe the decision to wind down the Home Office team will have an adverse impact on the theft rates of motorcycles or motorcycle parts. Front-line practitioners are experienced in implementing initiatives to deal with vehicle crime, including thefts of motorcycles. This includes providing relevant crime prevention advice and making use of the Motor Salvage (Operators) Regulations 2002 to drive criminals out of the motor salvage industry to prevent vehicles, including motorcycles, being stolen for their parts.
	Performance management arrangements will ensure that the significant gains made to date in this area are sustained.

Written Questions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer Question 125175, on repatriation of failed asylum seekers, tabled by the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 28 February.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 29 March 2007
	I replied to the hon. Member on 6 June 2007,  Official Repor t, column 609W.

Written Questions

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer Question 126828, on migrant workers, tabled by the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham on 7 March.

Liam Byrne: I replied to the hon. Member on 7 June 2007,  Official Report, column 678W.

Young Offenders

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of  (a) street crime,  (b) burglaries,  (c) car thefts and  (d) criminal damage was carried out in each police authority area by 10 to 16-year-olds in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is not possible to determine the age of the alleged offender from the recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Climate Change

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which projects have been funded by the Investment Climate Facility for Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The UK accords high priority to investment climate reform in Africa. An improved investment climate will stimulate increased private sector investment and higher rates of sustainable growth, enhancing job creation and enabling Africa to lift itself out of poverty. This is why DFID, along with several other donors and companies with a long-term interest in Africa, supports the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF). The G8 recently reaffirmed their continuing support for the ICF at their Summit meeting in Heiligendamm.
	The ICF is an independent pan-African trust that brings together African governments and institutions, the private sector and donor agencies to work collectively to improve the investment climate in Africa.
	The ICF's first major project, the Rwanda Investment Climate Project, was launched on 28 May 2007, encompassing commercial dispute resolution and business and land registration. It is a three-year project in partnership with the Rwanda Government. The ICF is contributing about $9 million to the project.
	The ICF is also financing work on customs reform in East Africa in partnership with Business Action for Improved Customs Administration in Africa, as well as a project to speed up the payment of VAT refunds in Southern Africa. ICF expects to announce the approval of other projects under development in the coming months.

Departments: Dismissal

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions since 1st January 2000 his Department has summarily dismissed a member of its staff earning more than 40,000 per annum and serving overseas without there being any allegation either of misconduct or gross misconduct and without any written warning being given to the employee prior to dismissal.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has dismissed three employees since 1 January 2000 who fall within the criteria set out in the question. They were all dismissed following legal advice and in line with the terms of their contracts.

Departments: Official Cars

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what make and model of car  (a) he and  (b) each Minister in his Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were used when making the decision in each case.

Hilary Benn: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) is responsible for providing ministerial cars in line with the Ministerial Code and the Prime Minister's guidance Travel by Ministers'.
	GCDA advises the Prime Minister on the suitability of cars for inclusion in his guidance, taking into account a number of criteria when assessing suitable cars including their environmental impact, running and maintenance costs and overall suitability as a ministerial car.
	Ministers in the Department for International Development are provided with two Toyota Prius cars.

Departments: Official Cars

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what visits he has made involving a mix of political and official engagements where Government car service vehicles were used in 2007; and whether the Government were reimbursed a proportion of the cost in each case.

Hilary Benn: All travel is undertaken in accordance with 'Travel by Ministers' and the 'Ministerial Code', copies of which are available in the House Library.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to address the negative effects of climate change on low income countries.

Gareth Thomas: The UK is trying to limit the negative effects of climate change on low income countries by leading the call internationally for a global framework with ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The UK is leading by example in this, with a commitment to reduce emissions by 60 per cent. by 2050.
	The UK is also at the forefront of supporting poor countries adapt. DFID's rapidly rising aid budget means we can spend more money than ever to lift people out of poverty which makes them less vulnerable to climate change. But there is still much more that needs to be done. The UK has pledged at least 75 million to support adaptation directly. For example, at the grass roots level we are investing in schemes such as safer flood resistant housing for thousands of people in Bangladesh. We are also contributing 5 million over five years to improving Africa's ability to get and use information on what future climate trends will be, so that countries can plan better for this. In the last budget the Chancellor announced a new 800 million Environmental Transformation Fund, which will include support for adaptation in developing countries.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which projects have been funded by the Governance and Transparency Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The 2006 White Paper on International Development announced a new fund to support better governance and transparency in poor countries through working with civil society. Following a public consultation, the Secretary of State launched the five year 100 million Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) in February 2007.
	Applications are to be assessed through a fair and rigorous competitive process, with a commitment to begin spending before the end of this calendar year. We are on track to achieve that, anticipating all decisions on funding to be made in the autumn.
	It is therefore too early for any projects to have been funded under the GTF. Once decisions have been taken, we will post details of all proposals supported on the DFID website.

HIV Infection: Medical Treatments

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what total Government funding for research into the development of anti-retroviral HIV/AIDS medication for use in developing countries was in the latest period for which figures are available; and to which bodies this funding was provided.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government are not funding any research into the development of new oral anti-retroviral medication but is funding research into the development of microbicides (vaginal medication) against HIV and AIDS. The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) has received 8.7 million between 2002-08 and the Microbicide Development Programme (MDP), a joint programme between the UK Medical Research Council and Imperial College London, has received 39.8 million between 2001-09.
	The UK Government are providing 5.6 million for two clinical trials that are developing simplified treatment protocols to use existing oral anti-retroviral therapy in Africa. Both trials are coordinated by the Medical Research Council clinical trials unitDART (ART for adults 2002-07) and ARROW (ART for children 2006-11).

International Assistance

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his assessment is of the outcomes of the G8 meeting in respect of international development.

Hilary Benn: On climate change, the G8 summit made significant progress towards a new global agreement, which is very important for developing countries.
	The summit also reaffirmed the Gleneagles commitments on development assistance, and set out how the fight against AIDS will be taken forward, with additional funding and help for vulnerable mothers and children. There has also been considerable progress on debt cancellation.

Overseas Aid

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the timescale is for conducting country governance analysis for all recipients of UK development assistance; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID introduced a new governance assessment tool, the Country Governance Analysis (CGA), in February 2007. It will help ensure that our aid strategy and programming better reflect governance context and trends. The CGA is mandatory for all countries where DFID is preparing 3-5 year Country Assistance Plans. Between 17 and 21 countries are likely to prepare CGAs in 2007. The rest will be done in 2008-09. To date, none have reached the final approval stage but several are near to finalisation, including Sierra Leone, Malawi, Mozambique and Ghana. CGAs are undertaken with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Sierra Leone: Health Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has provided to health systems in Sierra Leone in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: Since April 2002 the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided 5,284,945 to support health systems in Sierra Leone through direct projects.
	Please see following table for a breakdown for each financial year.
	
		
			
			 2002-03 1,038,361 
			 2003-04 2,322,258 
			 2004-05 320,302 
			 2005-06 162,335 
			 2006-07 1,441,689 
		
	
	Some of the projects we have funded include:
	Support to UNICEF to help children, families and communities to provide care and protection for orphans and other vulnerable children;
	Malaria prevention and treatment;
	Support to UNICEF for Immunisation;
	Reproductive health;
	Rehabilitation of the Primary Health Care System in four Chiefdoms in Tonkolili District; and
	Establishing access to emergency Primary Health.
	DFID also supports health systems in Sierra Leone through Direct Budget Support to the Government. Of the 59.5 million that has been provided through Budget Support over the last five years, approximately 11 per cent. or 6 million has been spent on the health sector.
	In addition, in 2006 DFID provided $30 million through the Africa Catalytic Fund to fund the World Bank's accelerated Child Survival Programme in Sierra Leone. This is in its early stages of implementation. DFID is also working with the Government of Sierra Leone to prepare a 10 year programme aimed at strengthening the Health System to increase access to quality sexual, reproductive and child health services. It is expected this programme working closely with the World Bank will begin in 2008 and DFID will contribute 50 million over 10 years.

Sierra Leone: Health Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to encourage the provision of healthcare free at the point of access in Sierra Leone.

Hilary Benn: The 2006 Department for International Development (DFID) White Paper commits the UK to help partner Governments abolish user fees for basic health services. DFID is fully committed to supporting the Government of Sierra Leone to ensure that this is achieved.
	DFID's position is shared by our partner agencies working in Sierra Leone, including WHO, European Commission, World Bank, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Children's Fund, World Food Programme and International NGOs. Recent Health Development Partners meetings in country have established a common position: we would like to see user fees abolished and want to help the government to reach that position for themselves, including helping them to understand how to fund the cost of health services.
	The first step towards abolishing user fees is to establish the cost of providing basic health services and how to make this cost sustainable when user fees are removed. Currently fees collected by the government go towards funding the provision of services.
	DFID is therefore funding preparation of National Health Accounts through World Health Organisation (WHO) to help establish how much money is currently being spent on health services in Sierra Leone from all sources (donor, International non-government organisations, private sector etc.). In addition DFID, along with other Health Development Partners, is planning to finance a study on options for pro-poor health financing. Once DFID has this Options paper it will be able to discuss with government the best way forward.

Somalia: Overseas Aid

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to ensure that humanitarian relief funding to Somalia is reaching those who need it most.

Hilary Benn: In Somalia, DFID uses three principal mechanisms to ensure that humanitarian relief is reaching those who need it most. DFID is
	only funding the most experienced international relief agencies;
	obtaining regular and detailed reporting from the relief agencies, working with other donors where possible, backed up with visits in the field by DFID experts, where security permits;
	supporting objectively targeted assistance, where possible, such as: emergency medical reliefpeople are assisted if they are seriously illor emergency nutritional supportwhere entry onto a feeding programme is decided on the basis of the weight and height of the child. There is less likelihood of abuse when entitlement is established in this way.
	DFID provides a major proportion of our humanitarian funds to the International Committee of the Red Cross in southern Somalia, as they are experts at assisting victims of conflict and have good on-the-ground access.
	During the drought in Somalia last year, DFID's humanitarian adviser for east and central Africa visited south central Somalia in April. Following this assessment, DFID was able to provide further targeted assistance.
	As part of our ongoing humanitarian programme, DFID has committed 900,000 to International Medical Corps (IMC). Part of this support provides targeted assistance to malnourished children in the Bakool and Hiran regions.

Somalia: Overseas Aid

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of UK financial support for the Somali Transitional Federal Government.

Hilary Benn: DFID provides financial support to the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) through a strategic partnership with the United Nations Development programme (UNDP) and a separate UNDP Somali Institutional Support project. Between July 2006 and December 2007, DFID has committed 5 million to the UNDP partnership to support the achievement of reconciliation, stability and improved governance, rule of law and assisting Somali Diaspora to return and use their skills in public service delivery. Activities are being carried out with the TFG and with the regional administrations in Somaliland and Puntland. DFID has also committed 2.5 million to the Somali Institutional Support Project (SISP) which focuses on supporting the key functions and actions to be performed by the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs).
	Both the UNDP partnership and the SISP have provided technical and financial assistance to the Offices of the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker, Supreme Court and other institutions. In the absence of a fully trained civil service, this assistance is enabling the Transitional Federal Institutions to have some technical capacity to function and interact with key stakeholders including the Somali people. Achievements include helping re-establish the National Civil Service Commission and providing management and financial training to civil servants. The UNDP partnership agreement has also been effective in helping the re-establishment of the Somali police force in South Central Somalia, through the training of 1000 cadets and the construction of Armo Police Training Academy and Hargeisa Central prison.

Zambia: Health Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has provided to health systems in each of the last five years in Zambia; and if he will provide details of that support.

Hilary Benn: Strengthening the systems that deliver health services is a priority for DFID in Zambia. Under Zambia's Joint Assistance Strategy, DFID is the overall lead donor in the health sector during 2007 and has responsibility for coordinating the contributions of 15 multilateral and bilateral agencies.
	In 2006-07, DFID provided an estimated 5.5 million to support health systems in Zambia, of which approximately 4.7 million was through Direct Budget Support.
	DFID is also providing technical support to the implementation of the Zambian Government's human resources strategic plan which is working to address Zambia's severe human resource crisis in the health sector. In addition, we are supporting improvements to financial management, monitoring and evaluation, as well as timely procurement of drugs and supplies.
	From 2002-03 to 2006-07, DFID provided a total of approximately 30.6 million to support health systems in Zambia.
	DFID does not have a formal definition of health systems but the following table shows DFID spend in the health sector in Zambia. The top three rows relate most closely to health systems. Direct Budget Support means the funds have been provided directly to the Zambian Government's budget either for general or sector specific purposes. The data incorporate a notional allocation of 20 per cent. of Direct Budget Support for the health sector.
	
		
			  DFID bilateral expenditure in Zambia in health sector 
			   
			  Input sector  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Health sector: Notional allocation of direct budget support   1,833,043 4,215,999 4,745,544 
			 Health Policy 8,366,796 4,991,898 2,797,303 2,837,159 810,833 
			 Pro Poor Health Policy and Systems13,846  
			 Nutrition   13,212 426,551 3,970 
			 Communicable Disease Control12,813  
			 Reproductive Health incl. Family Planning Activities 1,198,188 1,502,875 63,072 6,128  
			 Health Research 97,865 49,926
			 HIV and AIDS 275,712 135,109 1,978,281 5,211,737 4,273,106 
			 Health total 9,938,561 6,679,808 6,684,911 12,724,232 9,833,453 
			  O f which:  
			 Estimated health systems 8,366,796 4,991,898 4,630,346 7,067,003 5,556,377 
			 (1 )Provisional.

Zambia: Health Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to encourage the provision of health care free at the point of access in Zambia.

Hilary Benn: In April 2006, health user fees were removed in all Zambian government-funded health institutions in rural areas. This has made health care free at the point of access in 54 of Zambia's 72 districts. Overall, it is estimated that a third more people are being seen in health facilities. However, there has been concern about the quality of services. In many clinics, drugs ran out, and health workers become even more overworked than before. There is a plan to expand free care to peri-urban areas later in 2007. Expansion to urban areas is expected to follow in time; however this needs to be undertaken with care because of the limited capacity of current facilities such as numbers of clinics, health workers and drug supply systems to cope with additional use.
	The Government of Zambia, together with DFID, has therefore prioritised improvements to drug procurement and supply chain systems, and the development of plans to address the human resource crisis. To assist, DFID plans to provide an additional 2.9 million per year for five years in general budget support, which will be used to increase the grants to districts, procure drugs, and recruit and retain more health workers.

JUSTICE

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 783-84W, on Departments: Manpower, for what reasons, subject to personal confidentiality, the 67 employees are potentially without posts.

Bridget Prentice: The 67 employees referred to in the answer of 16 May 2007, Official Report, columns 783-84W, are from former DCA, the Criminal Injuries Complaints Authority and NOMS HQ. All are actively in employment, but due to business reasons, for example restructuring, relocation, closure of offices/courts, the end of projects/secondments etc, their posts are potentially coming to an end. The majority of the 67 employees comprise 39 members of staff from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which is relocating to Scotland later this year. Their redeployment status is being managed in securing suitable alternative employment within the Ministry of Justice or the wider civil service.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 783-84W, on Departments: Manpower, what the estimated yearly cost to the public purse is of funding the employees without posts.

Bridget Prentice: As the 67 employees referred to in the written PQ of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 783-84W, are actively in employment, and their redeployment status is being managed in securing suitable alternative employment within the Ministry of Justice or the wider civil service, there is no yearly cost to the public purse.

Departments: Official Cars

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what visits she has made involving a mix of political and official engagements where Government car service vehicles were used in 2007; and whether the Government were reimbursed a proportion of the cost in each case.

Harriet Harman: All travel is undertaken in accordance with Travel by Ministers and the Ministerial Code, copies of which are available in the House Library.

HM Courts Service: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff funded by the public purse in HM Courts Service are classified as people without posts.

Bridget Prentice: There are currently no employees who are funded by the public purse in HM Courts Service who are classified as people without posts.

Home Detention Curfews: Greater London

Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many offenders convicted of child abuse were released on home detention curfews in the Metropolitan Police district in each London borough in each year since their introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Child abuse is not a recorded offence type in itself.
	Since March 2001 offenders required to register under the Sex Offender Act 1997 (now replaced by part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) have been statutorily excluded from being considered for home detention curfew. Prior to March 2001 such prisoners were presumed unsuitable for release unless there were exceptional circumstances. Since July 2003 prisoners with any history of sexual offending and those serving a current sentence for offences involving child cruelty, neglect or similar offences involving violence against children have been presumed unsuitable for release unless there are exceptional circumstances.
	Statistics which apply solely to offences against children of a violent or sexual nature would not be available without disproportionate cost and would not be available for each London borough in the Metropolitan area.

Home Detention Curfews: Greater London

Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many offenders were released on home detention curfews in the Metropolitan Police district in each London borough in each year since their introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of prisoners released under the home detention curfew scheme from all prison establishments in England and Wales can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Home detention curfew release( 1)  and population figures by sex, England and Wales 
			  Number/percentage 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Number released on:
			 HDC 14,847 15,510 13,649 20,456 21,188 19,294 17,296 
			 Males 13,523 14,005 12,121 18,509 19,050 17,159 15,392 
			 Females 1,324 1,505 1,528 1,947 2,138 2,135 1,904 
			 
			 Population on HDC at end of year(2) 2,000 1,700 1,700 3,100 3,700 3,400 3,300 
			  Notes: 1. This table is taken from table 10.3 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005. Information showing the figures by individual London boroughs within the Metropolitan Police district is not held centrally. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Legal Services Bill

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received from trade unions on their exemption from part 3 of the Legal Services Bill.

Bridget Prentice: We have discussed the Legal Services Bill with those representing both the Trades Union Congress and individual unions. While they have expressed support for the aims of the Legal Services Bill, they have been concerned to ensure that it does not inadvertently restrict trade unions from providing valuable support and assistance to their members.

Life Imprisonment

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what plans she has to increase resources for life sentence plans at each prison where the number of prisoners exceeds the programme capacity; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisons receive funding to manage all prisoners, including those subject to the life sentence planning process. For 2007-08, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Board has allocated additional funding, specifically to provide for assessments of and programmes for prisoners sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection, who are also currently subject to the life sentence planning process. The additional funding will be distributed to prisons where such prisoners are held. The NOMS Board has also commissioned a 'service review' which is looking at the systems and services currently in place for indeterminate sentenced prisoners. The final report and recommendations are expected in August 2007.

Miscarriages of Justice: Compensation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice whether an estimate has been made of the total potential liability faced by the Government from claims before the Independent Assessor of Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice; what oversight mechanism is in place to review the assessor's work; what the budget of her office is for 2007-08; how many and what proportion of cases completed in 2006-07 took more than two years to conclude; what the average length of an independent assessment process was over the last five years; in how many open cases interim but not final payments have been awarded; how many cases are before the assessor as at 7 June; how much the assessor was paid in each of the last five years; and how much has been deducted for board and lodging in awards made by the assessor in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It was estimated at 31 March 2007 that the potential liability in respect of compensation for miscarriage of justice was some 25 million. This estimate was based on the number of cases in which the Secretary of State had approved eligibility for compensation and in which the assessor was to make his final assessments. The performance of the independent assessor is monitored by the miscarriages of justice team in the Better Trials Unit of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. A monthly audit of cases is carried out and regular meetings are held with the assessor. It is also open to any applicant who is dissatisfied with the assessor's handling of their case to seek a judicial review.
	The independent assessor does not have a dedicated support office, but is able to look to the miscarriages of justice team to support him in administrative duties associated with his role. It is the responsibility of applicants to make written submissions to the independent assessor regarding the quantum of their claims, and he cannot make a final assessment until such time as those submissions have been made and agreed. Of the 38 cases in which a final assessment was made in 2006-07, 28 (76 per cent.) took more than two years from eligibility for compensation being approved to the final assessment. Over the five years from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2007, the average length of the independent assessment process, that is from eligibility being confirmed to final assessment, was three years. As at 7 June there were 116 cases in which eligibility for compensation has been approved but a final assessment not yet been made. In 79 of those cases (68 per cent.) one or more interim payments have been made, on application by the applicants. There were 16 cases with the independent assessor for final assessment and three cases in which applications for an interim payment have been made. The total fee payments to the independent assessor in each of the last five years were:
	
		
			
			 2002-03 62,436 
			 2003-04 24,246 
			 2004-05 20,325 
			 2005-06 77,874 
			 2006-07 92,660 
		
	
	The independent assessor does not make deductions from assessments for 'board and lodgings'. In certain circumstances he makes deductions in respect of saved living expenses. This practice was upheld by the House of Lords in a recent appeal. Central records of the amount of such deductions are not kept.

Notaries

Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will assess the merits of widening the range of professions which are permitted to become notaries.

Bridget Prentice: In England and Wales, qualification and regulation as a notary is governed by the Court of Faculties. No person in England and Wales is entitled to practise as a notary public, or do any notarial act unless he has been duly sworn, admitted and enrolled in this court. The Notaries (Qualification) Rules 1998 set out the qualification and admission requirements for becoming a notary.
	The Legal Services Bill, which is currently before Parliament, introduces greater competition in the provision of legal services. Under the Bill, notarial services will become a reserved legal activity and it will become possiblesubject to proper authorisation from the Legal Services Boardfor other approved regulators to authorise and licence the provision of these services.

Prison Service: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff funded by the public purse in HM Prison Service are classified as people without posts.

Bridget Prentice: HM Prison Service does not hold central records on the number of staff classified as without posts. It is a geographically widespread organisation and most aspects of personnel management are devolved to a local level.
	HMPS redeploys staff on a temporary basis until a permanent position is found for them. There are no known instances where this has not occurred.

Prison Service: Vacancies

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff vacancies there are at each  (a) prison establishment,  (b) HM Prison Service area and  (c) private sector prison; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The shortfall against staffing requirements across the public and private sector Prison Service is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  A.  Shortfall of staffing availability against requirement by establishment 30 April 2007Public Sector 
			  Prison  Shortfall on unified( 1 ) staffing requirement having included CSH( 2)  Shortfall on non-unified staffing requirement having included agency staff 
			 Acklington   
			 Albany  13 
			 Ashwell 5 13 
			 Askham Grange  3 
			 Aylesbury 5 8 
			 Bedford  13 
			 Belmarsh  36 
			 Birmingham 10 23 
			 Blakenhurst 6 18 
			 Blantyre House 1 2 
			 Blundeston  4 
			 Brinsford 15 1 
			 Bristol 7 6 
			 Brixton 18 9 
			 Brockhill 8  
			 Buckley Hall 3  
			 Bullingdon 1 5 
			 Bullwood Hall 1 16 
			 Camp Hill 4  
			 Canterbury 2 8 
			 Cardiff 6 10 
			 Castington 6 6 
			 Channings Wood  4 
			 Chelmsford 9 10 
			 Coldingley 3 6 
			 Cookham wood/East Sutton Park 2 11 
			 Dartmoor  4 
			 Deerbolt 4 2 
			 Dorchester 4 3 
			 Dover 6  
			 Downview 3 1 
			 Drake Hall 3 1 
			 Durham 7 12 
			 Eastwood Park  16 
			 Edmunds Hill 1 6 
			 Elmley  2 
			 Erlestoke 5 15 
			 Everthorpe  8 
			 Exeter 5 4 
			 Featherstone 10  
			 Feltham 2 87 
			 Ford 5 12 
			 Foston Hall 5 4 
			 Frankland 12 37 
			 Full Sutton 18 2 
			 Garth  30 
			 Gartree 2 11 
			 Glen Parva 8 25 
			 Gloucester 6  
			 Grendon 10 4 
			 Guys Marsh 14 8 
			 Haslar 2 3 
			 Haverigg   
			 Hewell Grange 1 3 
			 High Down 31 19 
			 Highpoint 7 9 
			 Hindley  7 
			 Hollesley Bay  4 
			 Holloway 12 9 
			 Holme House   
			 Hull 13  
			 Huntercombe 6 9 
			 Kingston 3 1 
			 Kirkham 5 19 
			 Kirklevington Grange  1 
			 Lancaster   
			 Lancaster Farms   
			 Latchmere House 1 10 
			 Leeds  10 
			 Leicester  10 
			 Lewes  9 
			 Leyhill 1 18 
			 Lincoln 4  
			 Lindholme   
			 Littlehey  8 
			 Liverpool 8  
			 Long Lartin 3 9 
			 Low Newton  5 
			 Maidstone  10 
			 Manchester  46 
			 Moorland   
			 Morton Hall   
			 New Hall 2 3 
			 North Sea Camp 2 1 
			 Northallerton 5 3 
			 Norwich  13 
			 Nottingham 13 9 
			 Onley 8 12 
			 Parkhurst 4 6 
			 Pentonville  3 
			 Portland 1  
			 Preston   
			 Ranby 12 8 
			 Reading  1 
			 Risley   
			 Rochester   
			 Send 6 4 
			 Shepton Mallet  1 
			 Shrewsbury 3  
			 Stafford 5 14 
			 Standford Hill   
			 Stocken  3 
			 Stoke Heath 14 5 
			 Styal  20 
			 Sudbury 2 9 
			 Swaleside  2 
			 Swansea 3  
			 Swinfen Hall 0 23 
			 The Mount 6 9 
			 The Verne 3 14 
			 Thorn Cross 2 1 
			 Usk/Prescoed 1 5 
			 Wakefield 21 39 
			 Wandsworth 6 84 
			 Warren Hill 0  
			 Wayland  2 
			 Wealstun  5 
			 Wellingborough 6 15 
			 Werrington 6 4 
			 Wetherby 11 12 
			 Whatton 3 11 
			 Whitemoor  49 
			 Winchester   
			 Woodhill 18 32 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 4  
			 Wymott  14 
			 Sheppey Reducing Reoffending 18  
		
	
	
		
			  B.  Shortfall of staffing availability against requirement by operational area 30 April 2007Public Sector 
			  Area  Shortfall on unified staffing requirement having included CSH  Shortfall on non-unified staffing requirement having included agency staff 
			 East Midlands 68 130 
			 Eastern 22 91 
			 High security prisons 71 249 
			 Kent and Sussex 32 55 
			 London 42 201 
			 North East 17 26 
			 North West 17 90 
			 South Central 75 77 
			 South West 44 92 
			 Wales 10 15 
			 West Midlands 77 89 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 31 42 
			 (1) Unified staff are officer grade staff and operational managers. (2) CSHContracted supplementary hours.  Notes on public sector prison figures: 1. The shortfall is shown after accounting for the contribution of contracted supplementary hours and agency staff. 2. The totals have not been offset by surpluses at other locations but have been offset by surpluses in individual grades within one site. 3. A dash represents an establishment that is either fully staffed or reporting a surplus. A zero represents a shortfall of a fraction of a post that rounds to zero. 4. The columns in the table cannot sensibly be added together to find an overall level of shortfall. This is because dashes represent either no shortfall or an unstated level of surplus that could be used to offset overall staffing variances. 5 The information is derived from the Personnel Corporate Database, Oracle HRMS and quarterly forecast change forms. These systems are liable to the normal inaccuracies associated with any large-scale reporting systems. 
		
	
	
		
			  C.  Short fall of staffing availability against requirement by establishment 31 March 2007Private Sector 
			   Shortfall on staffing requirement 
			  Prison  Operational  Non-operational 
			 Altcourse (GSL) 10 8 
			 Ashfield (SERCO) 15 19 
			 Bronzefield (KALYX) 11 4 
			 Doncaster (SERCO) 6 12 
			 Dovegate (SERCO) 12 4 
			 Forest Bank (KALYX) 6 4 
			 Lowdham Grange (SERCO) 9 12 
			 PARC (G4S) 0 15 
			 Peterborough (KALYX) 0 15 
			 Rye Hill (GSL) 2 0 
			 Wolds (GSL) 12 1

Public Guardianship Office: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff funded by the public purse in the Public Guardianship Office are classified as people without posts.

Bridget Prentice: There are currently no employees who are funded by the public purse in the Public Guardianship Office who are classified as people without posts.

Solicitors: North East Region

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Ministry of Justice what arrangements she has made for the provision of duty solicitor cover in Bridlington, Goole and Beverley in light of the decision of Hull firms to withdraw from the provision of such cover.

Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission has sufficient cover from other legal aid firms based in the region to provide full duty solicitor cover in Goole and Beverley magistrates courts. Hull firms have never provided duty solicitor cover in Bridlington magistrates court.

Young Offenders

David Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many and what percentage of under 18 year olds convicted in each year since 1997 lived  (a) with a parent who had sole custody,  (b) with parents who had joint custody and  (c) with parents who were married.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The individual circumstances surrounding convicted offenders are not held centrally.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departments: Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which  (a) advertising agencies and  (b) other organisations supplied consultancy services for advertising campaigns for (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the cost of these services was.

Peter Hain: The  (a) advertising agencies and  (b) other organisations who have supplied consultancy services for advertising campaigns for (i) the Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; including the cost of these services are listed as follows:
	
		
			 
			  (i) Department   
			 2006-07 Genesis 5,028.90 
			
			  (ii) Agencies   
			 2003-04 Anderson Spratt 61,454.06 
			 2004-05 Anderson Spratt 77,231.90 
			 2005-06 Anderson Spratt 69,591.97 
			 2006-07 Anderson Spratt 29,310,10 
			  Direct Marketing Ltd. 2 937.50 
			  Ovation N.I 9,000.00

Departments: Carbon Emissions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what methodology is used by his Department to account for its carbon emissions.

Peter Hain: Carbon emissions from the NIO's estate are calculated from energy data supplied by the NIO Energy Manager to Energy Branch in the Department of Finance and Personnel, which collates such data for all public sector bodies in Northern Ireland for publication in the annual Public Sector Energy Campaign Report. They use the following conversion factors (similar to those used by DEFRA) to calculate carbon emissions:
	
		
			   Grammes per kWh 
			 Electricity 430 
			 Gas/diesel oil 250 
			 Natural gas 190 
			 Liquid propane gas 230 
			 Heavy fuel oil 260 
		
	
	The Department also participates in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund, which aims to offset emissions from air travel. The emissions are calculated as follows:
	For short haul each km flown equals 0.3kg CO2
	For long haul each km flown equals 0.22kg CO2
	Further information on the fund can be found at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/carbonoffset/government.htm

Departments: Official Cars

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what make and model of car  (a) he and  (b) each Minister in his Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were used when making the decision in each case.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today (UIN 141990) by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Transport.

Independent International Commission on Decommissioning

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Freedom of Information requests have been received by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) since the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if he will seek an amendment of the legislation to include the IICD.

Peter Hain: The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) is not included within schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Organisations will be considered in the context of any review of extending the coverage of the Freedom of Information Act. We have no plans to review the coverage of the Act at present.

Local Government Re-organisation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1211W, on local government re-organisation, when the copy of the consultants' report will be placed in the Library.

Peter Hain: This has now been placed in the Library.
	The full title of the report is:
	Office of the First Minister Deputy First Minister
	Exercise to Estimate the Costs and Efficiencies of the Review of Public Administration Proposals November 2005
	Final Report 15 November 2005

Public Expenditure

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the operation of the Barnett formula as it affects Northern Ireland.

Peter Hain: In the run-up to devolution I had a number of discussions with the Chancellor about the funding of programmes which, since 8 May, have become the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 568-9W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, when the copy of the presentation will be placed in the Library.

Peter Hain: This has now been placed in the Library.

PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Eligo International

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister what the  (a) date,  (b) value and  (c) purpose was of each payment made by his Office to Eligo International Limited since 1997.

Tony Blair: My Office has made no payments to Eligo International Limited since 1997.

Departments: Official Residences

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the official ministerial residences allocated to him; and what the total annual cost is of running each.

Tony Blair: On the allocation of ministerial residences, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 789W.
	On costs, I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W and on 30 January 2007,  Official Report, column 150W. Expenditure on other official residences is a matter for the relevant Minister's Department.

East Riding

Graham Stuart: To ask the Prime Minister how many times he has visited the East Riding of Yorkshire on official Government business in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 2 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1385-87W.
	Information on visits made in the UK during 2006-07 will be published by means of an annual list before the summer recess.

European Constitutional Changes

William Hague: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Macclesfield of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 257W, on European constitutional changes, where the red lines have been set out before; what those red lines are; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Sir Nicholas Winterton) on 6 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 256-7W.

Libya

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the Memorandum of Understanding with Libya signed on 28 May 2007.

Tony Blair: The Memorandum of Understanding is publicly available, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Ministers: Pay

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister whether he expects to receive a ministerial severance payment when he leaves office.

Tony Blair: No. Severance pay is payable in accordance with section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991.

Ministers: Pay

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers have not been remunerated for their ministerial service since May 1997; and what the duration was of unpaid ministerial service in each case.

Tony Blair: Details of all Ministers since 1997 are contained in editions of the List of Ministerial Responsibilities, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. In addition, the press notices of ministerial appointments issued by my Office, note whether a particular appointment is unpaid.

Official Spokesman

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister what the responsibilities of his official spokesman will be after June 2007.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Davies) on 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1096W.

Rendition

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with (i) President Bush and (ii) US officials on UK assistance in relation to rendition flights since 1 May 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments.

SCOTLAND

Departments: Carbon Emissions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what methodology is used by his Department to account for its carbon emissions.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office subscribes to the principles of environmental performance and accounting methodology adopted by the Ministry of Justice.

Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of his Department's special advisers were on  (a) paid and  (b) unpaid leave in order to assist with party political matters under section 22 (iii) of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers on Wednesday 16 May 2007; and how many days' leave each adviser was granted.

David Cairns: Special advisers' involvement in party political matters is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, including section 22 (iii), and the guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary in December 2006 and May 2007, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.

Departments: Official Residences

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the official ministerial residences allocated to Ministers in his Department; and what the total annual cost is of running each.

David Cairns: No Ministers in the Scotland Office are allocated a ministerial residence.

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent estimate has been made of the value of the Department's property portfolio.

David Cairns: All Scotland Office property is rented and therefore the property portfolio value is nil. However, Dover House, which is held as an historic leasehold, is independently re-valued by the Valuation Office Agency, on the basis of existing use value, in accordance with the appraisal and valuation manual of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The most recent valuation undertaken in 2005-06 valued the building at 1,085,000.

Departments: Sovereign Strategy

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Office held with Sovereign Strategy in each year between 1997 and 2006.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was formed on 1 July 1999. Since then, there have been no ministerial or official meetings with Sovereign Strategy.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Auctions: Internet

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Office of Fair Trading  (a) is investigating and  (b) plans to investigate the online money transfer marketplace used by internet auction sites.

Ian McCartney: I understand that the OFT are not investigating the online money transfer marketplace and have no current plans to do so. The use by the OFT of their powers under the Enterprise Act to conduct market investigations is a matter for the OFT.

Clothing: Fire Prevention

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review the legislation governing the safety of children's nightwear.

Ian McCartney: The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985, which govern the fire safety of children's nightwear, are already the most stringent in Europemost member states have no legislation in this area. There are no current plans, therefore, to review these regulations. In addition, manufacturers of clothing, including pyjamas, that do not meet the flammability standard of the regulations have a responsibility to ensure their products are safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

Clothing: Fire Prevention

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost of improving the safety of nightwear; and what assessment he has made of the affordability of such improvements.

Ian McCartney: My Department commissioned research into nightwear safety in 1994, which included looking at the costs of extending the scope of the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations to include cotton nightwear garments, e.g. pyjamas. It was found that, as well as the cost of testing a finished product adding up to 3 per garment, making it from chemically flame retardant cotton would add another 3-4 per garment. The research did not assess affordability but any such assessment must also take into account that flame retardant chemicals can affect the feel and comfortability of cotton fabric, and could pose problems for allergy sufferers.

Departments: Official Residences

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the official ministerial residences allocated to Ministers in his Department; and what the total annual cost is of running each.

Alistair Darling: The DTI does not have any official ministerial residences.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civil servants, and of what pay grade, work on the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The microgeneration team has responsibility for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 and 2, along with a range of other policy and delivery activities relating to microgeneration. There are currently five Civil Servants (two Range 10s and three Range 8s) working in that team.

Official Cars: Ministers

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's policy is on the vehicle excise duty bands of Ministerial cars; and into which bands cars presently allocated to Ministers fall.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 11 June 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State for Transport on 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 728W.

Seals: Animal Products

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will implement a national ban on the trade in seal products;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the European Commission's position on the EU-wide ban on the import of seal products; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The European Commission is currently conducting a study of the Canadian seal hunt in order to assess the need for EU-wide action.
	The Government decided to pursue EU-wide measures because national measures would be impossible to enforce under EU single market rules.
	However we continue to believe that EU wide measures are the only effective way of banning seal products from the UK. The EU is a single trading market and therefore national bans could not prevent seal products being imported via other member states, such as Denmark and Finland. The UK does not intend to introduce a measure that could be so easily circumvented, as it would not prevent the cruelty that the public is concerned about. For these reasons the Government considered national ban and rejected it.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Noise

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Government are tackling problems of blight in respect of those living  (a) in the vicinity and  (b) under the flight paths of regional airports.

Gillian Merron: The Government's The Future of Air Transport White Paper invited airport operators to bring forward voluntary schemes to address generalised blight where runways are supported by the White Paper or where land is safeguarded for future development. Voluntary blight schemes have been introduced at Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. Home-owners directly and indirectly affected by airport development will also have access in due course to statutory blight provisions.

Airports: Noise

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many airports in the UK have implemented voluntary plans to tackle noise pollution.

Gillian Merron: There are over 140 licensed aerodromes in the United Kingdom and the information about voluntary plans to tackle noise pollution is not collected or held centrally by the Department.
	In the Future of Air Transport White Paper, we encouraged airport operators to have voluntary schemes to mitigate the impact of aircraft noise. We have therefore introduced statutory powers to strengthen the airport operators' powers to introduce noise control schemes and fine aircraft that breach noise controls. We hope that this will encourage larger airports to establish schemes where they do not already exist. We have recommended that airport consultative committees monitor how well these new powers are being implemented by airports. We propose to consult the committees in 2008 on progress made by airport operators.
	Under the environmental noise directive, all airports with over 50,000 movements per year are required to produce strategic noise maps by 30 June 2007. The completion of these maps will need to be followed by action plans aimed at managing and reducing environmental noise. These action plans are required to be completed by 18 July 2008.

BAA: Secondment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are seconded to his Department from BAA plc; what the roles are of such secondees; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: There are no BAA staff seconded into the Department for Transport.

Departments: Official Cars

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what make and model of car  (a) he and  (b) each Minister in his Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were used when making the decision in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) is responsible for providing ministerial cars in line with the ministerial code and the Prime Minister's guidance Travel by Ministers'.
	GCDA advises the Prime Minister on the suitability of cars for inclusion in his guidance, taking into account a number of criteria when assessing suitable cars including their environmental impact, running and maintenance costs and overall suitability as a ministerial car.
	It is for individual ministers to account for their travel arrangements. Ministers in the Department for Transport are provided with three Toyota Prius and one Ford Mondeo for their official use.

Mobility: Finance

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government on funding streams for charitable organisations providing accessible vehicles for elderly and disabled people;
	(2)  what future funding streams he has allocated for vehicles to assist the elderly and people with disability; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department has regular discussions with colleagues in Communities and Local Government (CLG) on many issues including on the important role which local authorities play in acting as an essential conduit for Central Government funding.
	The Government are committed to an accessible transport system in which disabled and older people have the same opportunities to travel as other members of society. Its overall transport strategy, as set out in the Transport White Paper The Future of Transport, recognised the vital role that extending mobility plays in meeting the wider objectives for the economy and an inclusive society.
	Transport provision is largely funded via local authorities who are best placed to deliver the solutions that best meet the needs of local people. For example, to assist these aims the West Midlands region were provided with over 155 million capital funding for both integrated transport and maintenance for 2007-08.
	We have ensured, through the introduction of accessibility planning into the most recent round of local transport plans, that the needs of socially excluded groups are prioritised.
	We have already achieved a great deal to make mainstream public transport more accessible (for example, all new trains, buses and coaches must be accessible to disabled people, including wheelchair users) but the Government's wider strategy is to devolve decision making responsibility about local service provision closer to where services are delivered, and to encourage the removal of ring fenced funding so that local decisions can increasingly be informed by local context, priorities and need.

Motorcycles: Theft

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the theft of motorcycle parts.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	The decision to wind down the Home Office Vehicle Crime Reduction Team was taken as part of the Home Office Reform Programme and in the context of developing a new strategic approach to crime reduction.
	We do not believe the decision to wind down the Home Office team will have an adverse impact on the theft rates of motorcycles or motorcycle parts. Frontline practitioners are experienced in implementing initiatives to deal with vehicle crime, including thefts of motorcycles. This includes providing relevant crime prevention advice and making use of the Motor Salvage (Operators) Regulations 2002 to drive criminals out of the motor salvage industry to prevent vehicles, including motorcycles, being stolen for their parts.
	Performance management arrangements will ensure that the significant gains made to date in this area are sustained.

Parking

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish guidance under the Traffic Management Act 2004 on enforcement over parking on grass verges; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: All local authorities outside London already have the power to make Traffic Regulation Orders which can, among other things, ban parking on grass verges. It is for the local authority to put a ban in place where they consider it appropriate. Pavement parking (which includes parking on grass verges) is banned in London apart from where signs indicate otherwise.

Parking: Schools

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make changes to parking controls near schools.

Gillian Merron: There is a wide range of parking controls that a local authority can provide near schools. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) 2002 gives local authorities powers to implement yellow zig-zag and keep clear road markings. These markings indicate where vehicles should not stop outside a school entrance. The local authority can determine whether the markings are advisory or made mandatory with an appropriate traffic regulation order. There are no plans to change these controls.

Railways: Ashford Kent

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the future of passenger train services to Brussels from Ashford International station.

Tom Harris: I have met a number of hon. Members to discuss the issue, which has also been the subject of two Adjournment debates in the last eight months. In addition, I have received a small number of letters from hon. Members, and around another 30 letters from members of the public, local authorities and others.

Road Works

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the reasons for the time taken to implement the provisions of the Traffic Management Act 2004 in respect of permits for works in the highway.

Gillian Merron: Part 3 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, permit schemes, is dependant upon part 4 of the Act, the notices, directions and restrictions regulations. As such the permit regulations cannot be laid prior to part 4.
	I would refer the hon. Member to the written statement made to the House on 7 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 30-31WS, which set out the reasons for the time taken to implement Traffic Management Act regulations. All these reasons apply to part 4.

Roads: East Sussex

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the future costs of building the Hastings to Bexhill Link Road;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of the proposed Bexhill to Hastings Link Road.

Gillian Merron: The promoters of the scheme, East Sussex county council, have reported that the total cost of the scheme is now estimated to be 89.3 million. It is for the South East region to decide whether it still wishes to prioritise funding for this scheme at its higher cost within its regional funding allocation for major transport schemes. Should the region formally advise that it continues to be a funding priority, the scheme will then be subject to a re-appraisal and value for money assessment in accordance with the Department's guidance before a final decision on whether to provide additional funding to the scheme is taken. The environmental impact of the Link Road was assessed in accordance with our appraisal methodology, when the scheme was originally approved in December 2004.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics are collected by the Government on user satisfaction in relation to the condition of local authority-maintained highways.

Gillian Merron: The Government does not collect statistics on user satisfaction in relation to the condition of local authority-maintained highways.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics are collected by the Government on the condition of local authority-maintained highways in England.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport collects statistics from local authority surveys of road conditions which are collated and published annually in the 'National Road Maintenance Condition Survey'. The latest of these reports relates to 2006 and a copy of the report, published on 10 May 2007, was placed in the House of Commons Library and it is also available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/roadstraffic/maintenance/nrmcs2006intro.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the causes of the deterioration in local authority highways in England.

Gillian Merron: The two most recent National Road Maintenance Condition Surveys (NRMCS), published in April 2005 and April 2006, both showed that the deterioration in the condition of local authority highways during the 1990s had been halted, and that there had been a significant improvement in local road conditions since 2000.

Taxis: Disabled

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department is taking to promote the provision of taxis accessible to disabled people including wheelchair users.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport issued advice to taxi licensing authorities on 9 September 2002 which included factors they should consider in relation to improving access for disabled people. In November 2006, the Department also issued Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing: Best Practice Guidance which contains a section on improving accessibility of taxis. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Taxis: Disabled

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provision his Department is making to ensure that disabled people are involved in an evaluation of options regarding his Department's policy on the provision of taxis that are accessible to disabled people.

Gillian Merron: The Department has received a number of representations from organisations representing disabled people, individuals, licensing authorities and vehicle manufacturers which will help to inform the development of the policy on improving access to taxis. In addition the Department has regular discussions with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. Formal consultations will take place once options have been firmed up.

Taxis: Disabled

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Government expect to introduce regulations on accessible taxis under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Gillian Merron: The Government recognise the vital role taxis play in the transport of disabled people, and are committed to bringing forward requirements for accessible taxis.
	Consideration is currently being given as to how best this might be achieved, and this will comprise evaluation of all of the options, including both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches.

Tolls

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department on developing policy on national road pricing in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not have data in this form. Work to explore the potential of road pricing to address traffic congestion, most notably the 2003-04 Road Pricing Feasibility Study, was undertaken within overall departmental headcount and budgets.

Tolls

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the road pricing demonstrations project is estimated to cost.

Stephen Ladyman: The demonstration into Time-Distance-Place charging announced by the Secretary of State on 23 May is presently in the procurement stage, therefore it is not possible to state how much the project will cost until we have received proposals from bidders and evaluated them.

Tolls: Business

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to offer redress to businesses within the catchment areas of local authority pricing schemes who are able to demonstrate a loss of profit arising from the implementation of a scheme.

Stephen Ladyman: It is for local authorities to assess the impacts of their proposed schemes and consider what mitigation might be necessary or appropriate.

Tolls: Manpower

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people  (a) within his Department and  (b) on consultancy contracts are working on road pricing policy.

Stephen Ladyman: There are 22 members of departmental staff working primarily on the exploration of road pricing, and, in particular, work needed to make a success of schemes being developed by local authorities (e.g. on the provisions contained in the draft Local Transport Bill published for consultation on 22 May). This work also draws on expertise in other areas of the Department from time to time, for example, on legal, economic and scientific issues as necessary.
	A consultancy framework has recently been put in place to secure external expert input for road pricing and there are currently 24 individual consultants engaged full or part-time, this number varying dependent on the expertise required.

Trains: Bicycles

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to secure the integration of rail transport with bicycle use.

Tom Harris: Bidders for the franchises that are out to tender currently (East Midlands, West Midlands, New Cross Country and Intercity East Coast) require bidders to consider bike-rail integration and facilities at stations in their bid submissions. The Government's aspiration is to see 95 per cent. of journeys originating from stations with adequate cycle parking facilities.
	Last year, the Government asked Cycling England, our advisory group on cycling, to look into how we might better encourage bike and rail journeys. They have accepted this remit and are now looking to see where progress can best be made further to improve bike and rail integration. Officials here will assist them and we have written to all train operating companies who will be facilitating its work. I look forward to receiving the report from Cycling England.

Transport: Disabled

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received a request for a meeting from the Chairman of the Disabled Person's Transport Advisory Committee and the Disability Rights Commission.

Gillian Merron: A request for a meeting was sent to the Secretary of State on 4 April 2007 in a joint letter from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and the Disability Rights Commission. A reply was sent on 10 May 2007.

TREASURY

No. 11 Downing Street

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures are in place to ensure that additional costs associated with holding events at No. 11 Downing street are met by the organisers of those events.

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures are in place to ensure that additional costs associated with holding events at No. 11 Downing street are met by the organisers of those events.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) on the Floor of the House earlier today.

Rail Projects

Martin Linton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the funding of rail projects.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

World Trade

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the impact on the UK economy of trends in world trade; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave to the hon. Member for Ipswich (Chris Mole) on the Floor of the House earlier today.

Intellectual Property

Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to implement recommendations made in the Gowers Report on Intellectual Property.

John Healey: In the 2006 pre-Budget report, the Government made clear that it intends to take forward all of the recommendations of the Gowers Review for which it is responsible. Significant progress has been achieved since then, and the Government is working to implement the majority of the recommendations by the end of 2008.

Public Expenditure

Eric Martlew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on public expenditure of the fiscal rules; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The fiscal rules have enabled the Government to make historic increases to investment in public servicesovercoming the decades of underinvestment before 1997 and helping secure improvements in serviceswhile simultaneously delivering a decade of sustained growth alongside low and stable inflation.

Saving Gateway Pilot

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evaluation he has made of the outcome of the second Saving Gateway pilot.

Edward Balls: The final evaluation of the second Saving Gateway pilot was published on 25 May.
	Overall the evaluation found that the pilots were very successful in generating savings and that the Saving Gateway encouraged some lower income participants, in particular, to save and to reduce their expenditure in order to save.
	There was a positive impact on participants' attitudes to saving which was most marked among those who had little or no prior experience of saving. The findings also point overwhelmingly to the success of matching as a targeted incentive for lower income savers.
	The pilots have provided a wealth of evidence for future policy development. The Government will need time to analyse this information and will make further announcements on next steps for the roll-out of the Saving Gateway in the pre-Budget report.

Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit

Robert Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the take-up levels are of child tax credits and child benefit.

Stephen Timms: The latest figures show that in 2004-05 take up of the child tax credit was 82 per cent. with over 90 per cent. of the money available being claimed, higher than any previous system of income-related financial support for in-work families. Precise figures are not available for child benefit, but it is estimated that approximately 98 per cent. of eligible families claim child benefit.

Savings Ratio

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the trend in the savings ratio.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on the Floor of the House earlier today.

Africa: Education for All Initiative

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Education for All initiative for Africa.

Edward Balls: With 77 million children out of school, urgent action is needed to achieve universal primary education. The UK has made a long-term 8.5 billion commitment and is working with developing countries and other donors to develop and fund the long-term plans needed. The EC, World Bank, France, US, and Australia have all joined the international effort by committing new funds to education and private sector companies are working with African countries to support their efforts. Progress is being made: Enrolment in school in sub-Saharan Africa increased by 27 per cent. between 1999 and 2004. But more needs to be done.

Children

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of children under  (a) three,  (b) five,  (c) 10 and  (d) 14 years old were being brought up by (i) two parents who were both unemployed, (ii) two parents with one in full-time employment and one not in paid employment, (iii) two parents with both in full-time work, (iv) two parents with both in part-time work and (v) two parents with one in full-time work and one in part-time work in each year since 1979 for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 14 June 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of (a) children under three, (b) children under five, (c) children under 10 and (d) children under 14 years were being brought up by (i) two parents who were both unemployed, (ii) two parents with one in full time employment and one not in paid employment, (iii) two parents with both in full-time work, (iv) two parents with both in part-time work and (v) two parents with one in full-time work and one in part-time work in each year for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (141689)
	A table showing the information requested is attached. The figures in the table are estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the three months ending in June of 1997, 1999 and 2001-2006. Comparable information for 1998 and 2000 is not available.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Children who live with two parents by age of child and combined labour market status of parents( 1 ) United Kingdom, April-June 1997, 1999 and 2001-2006( 2) , not seasonally adjusted 
			   April-June 1997 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 324 511 1,006 1,530 18.1 17.1 16.7 18.4 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 598 1,064 2,351 3,315 33.5 35.7 39.1 39.9 
			 Both parents employed part-time 10 22 49 75 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 631 1,017 1,828 2,305 35.3 34.1 30.4 27.8 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 55 89 203 280 3.1 3.0 3.4 3.4 
			 Both parents unemployed 10 18 40 52 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 
			 Both parents economically inactive 63 115 258 390 3.5 3.9 4.3 4.7 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 95 149 275 356 5.3 5.0 4.6 4.3 
			 Total 1,786 2,984 6,011 8,305 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 1999 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 316 511 1,032 1,593 18.1 17.8 17.7 19.6 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 610 1,053 2,360 3,360 34.9 36.7 40.6 41.4 
			 Both parents employed part-time 11 19 44 63 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 619 975 1,731 2,183 35.3 33.9 29.8 26.9 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 61 101 203 291 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.6 
			 Both parents unemployed 7 15 30 41 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 
			 Both parents economically inactive 64 107 230 356 3.7 3.7 4.0 4.4 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 62 93 185 236 3.5 3.2 3.2 2.9 
			 Total 1,751 2,874 5,815 8,123 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 2001 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 303 489 1,042 1,620 18.3 17.5 18.3 20.1 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 604 1,063 2,337 3,364 36.6 38.1 41.1 41.7 
			 Both parents employed part-time 11 21 46 64 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 567 944 1,700 2,157 34.3 33.9 29.9 26.8 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 49 88 176 258 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.2 
			 Both parents unemployed 5 8 17 21 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 Both parents economically inactive 62 105 242 398 3.7 3.8 4.2 4.9 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 50 71 126 174 3.1 2.5 2.2 2.2 
			 Total 1,652 2,789 5,686 8,058 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 2002 
			   Thousand  Per cent age 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 267 433 964 1,537 16.8 16.1 17.5 19.6 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 551 995 2,223 3,231 34.7 37.0 40.3 41.2 
			 Both parents employed part-time 14 25 53 76 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 576 937 1,669 2,151 36.2 34.8 30.3 27.4 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 55 92 183 255 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.3 
			 Both parents unemployed 7 10 23 28 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 
			 Both parents economically inactive 74 126 270 402 4.7 4.7 4.9 5.1 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 43 71 124 156 2.7 2.7 2.2 2.0 
			 Total 1,589 2,692 5,512 7,841 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 2003 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 264 432 950 1,533 16.8 16.1 17.4 19.8 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 547 989 2,182 3,172 34.6 36.9 40.1 40.9 
			 Both parents employed part-time 13 20 42 68 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 594 970 1,710 2,182 37.7 36.2 31.4 28.1 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 52 88 197 282 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.6 
			 Both parents unemployed 6 10 18 20 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 
			 Both parents economically inactive 64 115 241 361 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.7 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 37 54 103 134 2.4 2.0 1.9 1.7 
			 Total 1,577 2,679 5,445 7,757 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 2004 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 287 467 972 1,525 17.6 17.3 17.9 19.8 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 568 964 2,187 3,175 34.8 35.7 40.2 41.1 
			 Both parents employed part-time 17 26 55 75 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 589 951 1,651 2,135 36.1 35.2 30.4 27.7 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 55 93 198 279 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 
			 Both parents unemployed 4 7 16 22 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 Both parents economically inactive 71 123 239 357 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.6 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 39 65 116 148 2.4 2.4 2.1 1.9 
			 Total 1,631 2,698 5,436 7,720 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 2005 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 320 479 1,008 1,592 19.3 18.0 18.8 20.8 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 599 988 2,140 3,085 36.2 37.1 39.8 40.3 
			 Both parents employed part-time 19 28 55 79 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 555 906 1,607 2,100 33.6 34.0 29.9 27.4 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 51 87 192 265 3.1 3.3 3.6 3.5 
			 Both parents unemployed 5 8 13 16 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 
			 Both parents economically inactive 60 102 234 366 3.6 3.8 4.4 4.8 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 43 66 122 149 2.6 2.5 2.3 1.9 
			 Total 1,652 2,664 5,372 7,653 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			   April-June 2006 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			   Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14  Under 3  Under 5  Under 10  Under 14 
			 Both parents employed full-time 328 492 982 1,516 20.0 18.1 18.2 20.0 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other part-time 591 1,018 2,168 3,067 36.0 37.5 40.2 40.5 
			 Both parents employed part-time 17 26 56 82 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 
			 One parent employed full-time and the other not in employment 543 905 1,614 2,093 33.0 33.3 30.0 27.6 
			 One parent employed part-time and the other not in employment 56 88 187 268 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.5 
			 Both parents unemployed 5 8 15 21 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 Both parents economically inactive 67 109 242 362 4.0 4.0 4.5 4.8 
			 One parent unemployed and the other economically inactive 38 69 121 160 2.3 2.5 2.3 2.1 
			 Total 1,644 2,716 5,386 7,573 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			 (1 )Estimates have been adjusted for children with parents who have unknown economic activity status. (2) Comparable figures for April-June and 2000 are not available.  Source: Labour Force Survey

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the  (a) dwelling house and  (b) value significant codes in use by the Valuation Office Agency for valuation purposes.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 January 2006,  Official Report, column 274W.

Councillors: Pay

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance HM Revenue and Customs has produced on the tax treatment of golden goodbye payments made to local councillors who are standing down.

John Healey: HMRC provides general guidance on the taxation of expenses and allowances payable to councillors and civic dignitaries in its employment income manual. The guidance also covers the tax treatment of termination payments and benefits. The employment income manual (EIM) is available to the public on the HMRC website at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk.

Crown Estate Commissioners: Land

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Crown Estate land was sold for housing development in the last year for which figures are available.

John Healey: In 2005-06 the Crown Estate sold 30.3 hectares of land for residential housing development.
	Financial information for 2006-07 is not yet available.

Crown Estate Commissioners: Land

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance the Office for Government Commerce has produced on the sale of Crown estate land.

John Healey: The Office of Government Commerce published the Guide for the disposal of surplus property in November 2005. This applies to central civil Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and sponsored bodies. It does not apply to the Crown estate, being property owned by the Sovereign in right of the Crown, which is governed by the Crown Estate Act 1961. The guide is available at:
	www.ogc.gov.uk.

Departments: Caparo Group

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have made payments to Caparo Group or its subsidiaries since 1997.

John Healey: None of the Chancellor's Departments or their agencies has found any records of payments to Caparo Group or its known subsidiaries within the last five years. Changes in accounting systems mean that a positive confirmation for all bodies over the whole period since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Information Officers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many press officers were employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each year since 1997.

John Healey: In 2006-07 the Treasury employed the full-time equivalent of nine press officers, the Debt Management Office employed two and the Office of Government Commerce employed three. Exact figures for previous years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost but there have not been significant variations in the past five years.

Departments: Official Cars

Si�n Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what make and model of car  (a) he and  (b) each Minister in his Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were used when making the decision in each case.

John Healey: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) is responsible for providing ministerial cars in line with the Ministerial Code and the Prime Minister's guidance Travel by Ministers' which is available at;
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
	GCDA advises the Prime Minister on the suitability of cars for inclusion in his guidance, taking into account a number of criteria when assessing suitable cars including their environmental impact, running and maintenance costs and overall suitability as a ministerial car.

Direct Payments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with which  (a) bodies and  (b) individuals his Department has discussed standardisation of the direct payments scheme.

Stephen Timms: Each local authority has its own direct payments service and it is their responsibility to develop services in consultation with their local populations and service users.

Gift Aid

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the findings of his consultation with the charitable sector on measures to increase take up of Gift Aid.

Stephen Timms: The Government expect to report on the progress of the Gift Aid consultation by the end of the year.

Government Shareholding

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in which companies the Government holds special shares; and which departments are responsible for them.

John Healey: The Government holds the following special shares:
	 Responsible Department: Ministry of Defence
	Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd
	Rosyth Royal Dockyard Ltd
	AWE plc
	AWE Pension Trustees Ltd
	QinetiQ Group plc
	QinetiQ Holdings Ltd
	QinetiQ Ltd
	BAE Systems Marine (Holdings) Ltd
	 Responsible Department: Department of Trade and Industry
	Royal Mail Group plc
	British Aerospace plc
	British Energy Group plc
	British Energy Holdings
	British Energy Generation
	British Energy Ltd
	Nuclear Liabilities Fund Ltd
	Rolls Royce plc
	 Responsible D epartment: Department for Transport
	NATS Holdings Ltd,
	Eurostar (UK) Ltd.
	London and Continental Railways Ltd.
	Union Railways (North) Ltd
	Inter-Capital and Regional Rail Ltd
	 Responsible Department: Treasury
	Partnerships UK Ltd
	 Responsible Department: Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development
	Belfast International Airport Ltd

Informers

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances an uplift beyond the basic 5 per cent. reward is paid to an informer providing information which leads to recovery of money for the Crown.

John Healey: Each reward payment made by HMRC is calculated on the circumstances relevant to that case.
	It would not be in the public interest to divulge the exact factors taken into account when calculating such payments, however all Law Enforcement agencies, in accordance with the relevant ACPO guidelines, apply similar considerations when determining levels of rewards payments

National Insurance Contributions

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the appropriateness of the age thresholds of national insurance contributions; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: There are no plans to review the age thresholds of national insurance contributions.

Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the estimated  (a) gross and  (b) net increase in business rate revenues in cash terms arising from the Government's proposals to reduce business rate relief for empty properties is in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10;
	(2)  whether a regulatory impact assessment has been produced on the Budget 2007 proposals to reduce business rate relief for empty properties; and whether this move was planned to be revenue-neutral;
	(3)  whether the Government undertook consultation on their plans to reduce empty property business rate relief.

John Healey: The Government estimate that the impact on tax revenue of reforms to empty property relief will be 950 million in 2008-09, and 900 million in subsequent years. This estimate was published in the Red Book alongside the Budget Report 2007.
	A regulatory impact assessment for this measure has been produced and is published on the Communities and Local Government website:
	www.communities.gov.uk.
	As part of the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, Sir Michael Lyons consulted extensively on Kate Barker's recommendation that empty property relief be reformed. As announced in the Budget, we are taking forward legislation to reform the relief from April 2008.
	The Government intend to publish a consultation document next month which will seek views on proposals for detailed reforms to secondary legislation, including the existing exemptions from empty property rates.

Pensions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on income tax revenue of pension income received through an alternatively secured pension rather than a payment from an annuity; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The impact on tax revenues of changes to the rules governing alternatively secured pensions, announced in the 2007 Budget, were set out in the regulatory impact assessment of tax relief for pensions, published on the Treasury website, available at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.

PFI

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of private finance initiative contracts were sold on by the original signatories to the contract in each year since 1997; and what assessment he has made of the profit made in each sale and the return to the taxpayer on each.

John Healey: The Treasury does not hold this information. Equity sales are private transactions between two private institutions; therefore the Treasury does not collate information on them. The Treasury does, however, and will continue more broadly to examine developments in the secondary equity market both through its relations with other Departments and key participants in the PFI market.

Suicide: Young People

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of victims of suicide under the age of 18 years in each year since 1997 lived  (a) with a parent who had sole custody,  (b) with parents who had joint custody and  (c) with parents who were married.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 14 June 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many and what percentage of victims of suicide under the age of 18 years in each year since 1997 lived  (a) with a parent who had sole custody,  (b) with parents who had joint custody and  (c) with parents who were married. I am replying in her absence. (142648)
	Information on the marital status of parents of deceased children or their custodial circumstances are not collected at death registration and are therefore not available to tabulate. The table below therefore only contains numbers of suicides for those aged under 18 in England and Wales from 1997 to 2005, the latest available year.
	It is assumed that most deaths from injury/poisoning of undetermined intent at ages 15 and over are cases where the harm was self-inflicted but there was insufficient evidence to prove that the deceased deliberately intended to kill themselves. This cannot be assumed in deaths at ages under 15 and therefore deaths from injury/poisoning of undetermined intent are not included when examining suicide (intentional self-harm) in children. As there were no deaths in children aged under 13 with a suicide verdict for the period requested, the table shows the number of suicides in children aged 13 to 14, and the number of suicide or injury/poisoning of undetermined intent deaths in those aged 15 to 17.
	
		
			  Number of deaths among people aged 13 to 17 years from suicide and injury/poisoning of undetermined intent, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005( 1) 
			   Aged 13-14  Aged 15-17 
			   Suicide( 2)  Suicide and injury/poisoning of undetermined intent( 3) 
			 1997 5 61 
			 1998 3 68 
			 1999 2 64 
			 2000 3 69 
			 2001 5 54 
			 2002 5 62 
			 2003 3 47 
			 2004 5 50 
			 2005 1 37 
			 (1 )Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year. (2 )The cause of death for suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the years 2001 to 2005, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84. (3) The cause of death for injury/poisoning of undetermined intent was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the years 2001 to 2005, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending.

Teenage Pregnancy

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of mothers under the age of 16 lived  (a) with a parent who had sole custody,  (b) with parents who had joint custody and (c) with parents who were married in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 14 June 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your request for how many and what percentage of mothers under the age of 16 lived  (a) with a parent who had sole custody,  (b) with parents who had joint custody and  (c) with parents who were married in each year since 1997.1 am replying in her absence. (142657)
	Only a small proportion of births are to mothers aged under 16 and, of these, most are at age 15 (see table below). For this reason the only reliable source for the figures requested is the 2001 Census as there are relatively few mothers aged under 16 at any one time. There were 1,040 mothers aged under 16 recorded by the 2001 Census. The figures requested by you are being extracted and will be placed in the Library of the House at a later date.
	
		
			  Number of maternities( 1)  England and Wales 
			  Age  1999  2000  2001  2005 
			 11 0 8 8 4 
			 12 5 5 9 4 
			 13 35 37 38 15 
			 14 228 245 239 188 
			 15 1,207 1,187 1,138 977 
			 Total under 16 1,475 1,482 1,432 1,188 
			 (1) A maternity is a confinement resulting in the birth of one or more live-born or stillborn children. There are only a small number of stillbirths to females under 16. In 2001 there were nine.  Source:  Birth statistics Series FM1 nos. 28, 29, 30 and 34

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Valuation Office Agency spent on speakers' fees for its North West Excellence Awards.

Stephen Timms: The Valuation Office Agency has paid no speaker's fees for its North West Excellence Award in 2004.

Valuation Office Agency: Secondment

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff from overseas have been  (a) seconded and  (b) attached to the Valuation Office Agency in each of the last five years, broken down by country and agency of origin.

Stephen Timms: The Valuation Office Agency has taken a total of three staff from overseas on secondment during 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 as follows:
	7 November 2005 to 4 May 2006: One secondee from Australia, Australian Valuation Office;
	3 July 2006 to 31 December 2006: One secondee from Hong Kong, Hong Kong Valuation Office;
	10 April 2007 to 9 October 2007: One secondee from Hong Kong, Hong Kong Valuation Office.
	The Valuation Office Agency is unable to provide any further information about any such secondments for earlier financial years without incurring disproportionate costs.
	No overseas staff have been attached to the Valuation Office Agency in the last five years.

VAT: Electric Motors

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he has received notification that the European Commission is to re-classify electric mobility scooters as the same category as golf caddies with a requirement that value-added tax should be levied;
	(2)  whether he has any plans to re-classify electric mobility scooters thereby attracting value-added tax to their sale.

John Healey: Electric mobility scooters and golf caddies are classified in the same tariff heading for customs purposes and have been since at least 2002 when the World Customs Organisation published its 'Classification Opinion' on the subject. We are not aware that the European Union has any plans to change that classification.
	However, VAT and Customs are separate regimes. Classification for duty purposes under the Customs regime has no direct bearing on VAT liability, which is determined by VAT law.
	For VAT purposes, mobility scooters may qualify for the zero-rating that applies when disabled people purchase certain carriages or other equipment specifically designed to meet their needs. The Government have no plans to change the scope of this VAT relief.

VAT: Repayments

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for VAT repayment have been subject to the extended verification process.

John Healey: HMRC has a duty to protect the VAT system from fraudulent attacks. It has a risk-based approach. Verification of VAT repayment claims is an important part of the Missing Trader Intra-Community Fraud (MTIC) strategy.
	Unfortunately it is not possible to disclose the numbers of claims that are subject to verifications, so the requested information cannot be disclosed. To do so would undermine the measure introduced by HM Revenue and Customs to counter MTIC fraud and as such prejudice the assessment and collection of tax.

Welfare Tax Credits

John Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to resolve the outstanding issues regarding the payment of tax credits to Mrs Shelagh House of Robert Cecil Avenue, Southampton.

Stephen Timms: The HM Revenue and Customs chairman wrote to my right hon. Friend about his constituent on 24 May 2007 and apologised for the delay in resolving the issues affecting his constituent's claim for tax credits.

WALES

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officials work in his Department.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office publishes staff numbers in its annual departmental report. This document is available in the House Libraries and on the Wales Office website:
	www.walesoffice.gov.uk

Departments: Official Cars

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what visits he has made involving a mix of political and official engagements where Government car service vehicles were used in 2007; and whether the Government was reimbursed a proportion of the cost in each case.

Peter Hain: All travel is undertaken in accordance with Travel by Ministers and the Ministerial Code, copies of which are available in the House Library.

Departments: Sick Leave

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what average number of days per year was taken by staff in his Department as sick leave in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Peter Hain: Figures relating to sickness absence are available for the last three years.
	For each year, the average number of days sick absence recorded for each member of staff is as follows:
	
		
			   Days 
			 2004-05 4.61 
			 2005-06 3.22 
			 2006-07 4.73

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bereavement Benefits

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that the bereavement grant is made available to co-habiting partners of people in a situation where a spouse is still alive; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Bereavement benefits cannot be paid to cohabiting partners. There are no plans to change this.
	It is a principle of the social insurance system that all rights to benefit derived from another person's contributions are based on the concept of legal marriage or, more recently, legal civil partnership.

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much was raised from the sale of his Department's property in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what properties the Department  (a) owned and  (b) rented in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what recent estimate has been made of the value of his Department's property portfolio.

Anne McGuire: The DWP estate (not including properties held by sponsored bodies) has been sold (freehold, freehold and long leasehold interests) or transferred (short leasehold interests) through its PFI Contract known as PRIME to Land Securities Trillium (LST). The proceeds were released to HM Treasury in April 1998 (for the original DSS estate) and further in December 2003 when PRIME was expanded to include the former Employment Service (ES) estate.
	In 2003, the Department and LST agreed a vacant possession value of 140 million for the freehold and valuable leaseholds covered within the expanded PRIME Contract. The Department decided to receive this amount split into an up-front payment of 100 million after seeking variant bids and a reduction in the annual Unitary Charge over the life of the contract, equivalent in present value terms to the 40 million balance.
	Following the expansion of the PRIME Contract, DWP retained two properties which for commercial reasons could not be transferred within the expansion. These two properties were subsequently sold in 2005-06 for 5.075 million.
	Despite having already sold its property assets, DWP retains some 'claw back' rights in the form of what is called 'development gain'. Under this mechanism, if LST sells a property vacated after April 1998 for more than the price it paid at the start of the contract, then after the sale costs are deducted, DWP receives 50 per cent. of the uplift in value with LST. This applies to market driven value increase as well as LST's activities to enhance value such as obtaining change of planning use. For 2006-07, DWP will receive 2.8 million.

Departments: Recruitment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department and its agencies paid to recruitment consultants in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: DWP has this information available only from 6 April 2004. The amounts given as follows represent the total value of the contracts awarded to recruitment agencies, rather than actual spend, for exercises to recruit staff into the Department within the periods shown.
	The Department for Work and Pensions makes use of executive search consultants to provide expertise in executive search and selection, particularly for senior and specialist staff in circumstances where the relevant skills, qualifications and experience are not available or in very limited supply across the Department and Whitehall.
	
		
			   Contracted spend () 
			 2004-05 1,387,106 
			 2005-06 3,265,273 
			 2006-07 1,164,375 
			 2007-08 (to date) 38,000

Financial Assistance Scheme

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of 23 April 2007,  Official Report, column 640, to the hon. Member for Ludlow, on the Financial Assistance scheme, if he will list those solvent schemes which will not be covered by the extension of the Financial Assistance scheme.

James Purnell: We announced an extension to FAS on 18 April 2007 to cover members of schemes that began winding up between 1 January 2007 and 5 April 2005, where a compromise agreement is in place, and where enforcing the debt against the employer would have forced the employer into insolvency. On 23 April 2007 we subsequently issued an indicative list of schemes potentially eligible for support from the FAS where a compromise agreement is understood to be in place.
	We do not currently have any detailed information on schemes sponsored by other solvent employers.
	On 28 March the Secretary of State announced a review to examine whether an alternative treatment of the residual funds in affected pension schemes and other non-public expenditure funding that have not already been allocated could be used to increase levels of assistance above the 80 per cent. provided by the financial assistance scheme. One objective for this review of scheme assets is to determine whether there are other pension schemes (in addition to those with compromise agreements) where although the sponsoring employer did not undergo an insolvency event, it would not be reasonable to expect the employer to have a continuing responsibility for supporting an under funded scheme. The review will provide an initial view in the summer, consult formally in the autumn and then report by the end of the year.

Incapacity Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many previous participants of the new deal for disabled people not currently participating on the scheme are claiming incapacity benefit; and how many left the scheme for employment before returning to benefit.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 7 June 2007
	Up to the end of November 2006, new deal for disabled people had been successful in helping 134,160 people into work.
	A total of 15,640 people who had previously left new deal for disabled people and were not participating at the end of November 2006, were claiming incapacity benefit at the end of November 2006.
	A total of 14,460 people who had left new deal for disabled people to employment had a subsequent out-of-work benefit claim at some point up to the end of November 2006.
	Because some people are included in both totals there is overlap between the two sets of figures.

Jobcentre Plus: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people obtained advice on benefits from the Christchurch office of Jobcentre Plus in each of the last six months;
	(2)  where he proposes former clients using the Christchurch Jobcentre Plus office will be able to use jobpoints and free telephone services after the proposed closure of the Christchurch office;
	(3)  on what date Jobcentre Plus in Dorset and Somerset finalised its service delivery plan for the district; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the plan;
	(4)  whether he is now in a position to place in the Library a copy of the business case for the closure of the Christchurch Jobcentre Plus office;
	(5)  pursuant to the letter of 15 May 2007 from the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform to the hon. Member for Christchurch, what assessment he has made of the ways in which closure of the Christchurch Jobcentre Plus office will enable his Department to provide a better service to the residents of Christchurch than it has been able to provide up to now.

Jim Murphy: holding answer s 23 May 2007
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves, dated 14 June 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the consultation process on Christchurch Jobcentre. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Lesley Strathie as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying on her behalf as Acting Chief Executive.
	I am unable to provide details of customer usage in Christchurch Jobcentre in the last 6 months as this information is not recorded. I can tell you that Christchurch has a Jobseekers Allowance customer load of 277 customers and an Income Support/Incapacity Benefit customer load of 2,065, of which 1,720 are sick and disabled and 345 are Lone Parents. As part of the consultation period which began on 21 May 2007, for 6 weeks, we will be analysing usage in detail via a questionnaire to customers who visit the office.
	Lesley Strathie's letter of 14 December referred to the Service Delivery Plan, which has yet to be finalised as we are just entering the consultation period. We are therefore unable to place a copy of the Business Case in the Library as it is not complete until after the consultation period when the Service Delivery Plan will be finalised.
	If after the consultation period the decision is taken to close Christchurch Jobcentre customers will be able to use the facilities at Bournemouth Jobcentre Plus. All Jobcentre Plus customers can access 0800 and 0845 telephone numbers when making claims to benefit and benefit enquiries, in addition to the 0845 number for Jobseeker Direct. Additionally the Jobcentre Plus website is available to all 24 hours a day.
	As you will know, we are continuing to develop our nationwide network of Jobcentres, and to review and improve our services. Advances in technology and increased availability of Contact Centre facilities mean that increasing numbers of customersincluding employersaccess our services by using the internet or telephone.
	I hope this is helpful.

Learning Disability: Basic Skills

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review the availability of literacy and numeracy basic skills training for people with a learning disability who are seeking or are in employment to ensure there are no special needs groups which are excluded from access to basic employment-focussed learning; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 May 2007
	 All Jobcentre Plus customers, including those with learning needs, have access to a range of literacy and numeracy basic skills training. Jobcentre Plus fund training for customers eligible for the new deal programme or voluntary training funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
	The new Employability Skills programme, for Jobcentre Plus customers, will be introduced in August 2007 and will target help for customers for whom basic skills are the primary barrier to employment. It will also be possible for customers with learning needs to be referred to have their needs assessed and, if it is suitable, will be able to take up this training. If the Employability Skills programme is not suitable the LSC provider will refer them to other LSC courses.
	Customers with a learning difficulty or disability who are registered on a LSC funded literacy and numeracy course are entitled, through the Skills for Life strategy, to free training. People with learning needs and in employment can also access a range of LSC provision either direct or via their employer.
	Education and training is a devolved issue and these arrangements for training refer to Jobcentre Plus customers in England only.
	We have no plans to review the availability of provision at this time.

Pensions Bill

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the Treasury of implementing the effects of Lords Amendments 68 to 76 to the Pensions Bill.

James Purnell: We have not worked out the exact cost of implementing the amendments as they are somewhat contradictory in effect and may be technically deficient. The intended effect would appear to be payment of PPF levels of benefit to those qualifying for FAS schemes (costs below). The amendments would also extend the level of benefits to an unspecified number of pension schemes in wind up with a solvent employer, costings for which will not be available until after the report of the review of FAS scheme assets. There would be very significant implementation costs in setting up and running the institutions proposed but these have not been costed.
	Paying PPF level benefits to the current set of qualifying FAS schemes would cost around 2.5 billion in NPV terms (640 million in addition to the budget extension) and 10.6 billion in cash terms (an additional 2.7 billion on the Budget extension).

Pensions: Bankruptcy

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  when he decided to include other sources of non-public funding in the review of pension scheme assets held by schemes in wind-up with a deficiency of assets;
	(2)  when he decided to publish an initial report in summer 2007 on pension scheme assets held by schemes in wind-up with a deficiency of assets in addition to a final report before the end of the year; for what reasons; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  whether the initial report on pension scheme assets held by schemes in wind-up with a deficiency of assets is planned to be published before the summer parliamentary recess 2007.

James Purnell: On 28 March 2007 the Secretary of State announced a review to examine how the best use could be made of the assets in pension schemes that are winding up underfunded. He also said the review would consider any suggestions from interested and concerned parties.
	On 23 April 2007 in a letter placed in the House, the Minister of State for Pensions Reform provided the full terms of reference which referred specifically to the review considering other sources of non-public expenditure funding (that have not already been allocated). It also stated
	The Review will provide an initial view in the summer, consult formally in the autumn and then report by the end of the year.
	We expect that an initial report will be provided before the summer parliamentary recess of 2007.

Remploy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the Remploy workforce is aged over 55 years.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 6 June 2007
	29 per cent. of the Remploy workforce is aged over 55 years.

Remploy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to the option of joint ventures, including with local colleges, at any existing Remploy site.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 6 June 2007
	 Remploy has contacted over 120 local organisations, including local colleges, providers and community groups to establish how they can work together.
	Remploy has established national partnerships with four major charities and Social Firms UK to establish what they can do to support employees should a decision be taken to close any factories.

Remploy: Closures

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assistance is planned to be made available to workers affected by the closure of Remploy factories in finding alternative employment in a sector of their choice.

Anne McGuire: Remploy will provide a support package to help employees through the transition and ensure that disabled people will continue to be able to choose to maintain meaningful employment on Remploy's terms and conditions, including membership of Remploy's final salary pension scheme.
	The Government will consider the Company's final proposals once they have been submitted later in the year following consultation. No decisions by the Secretary of State on the future of the Company will take place until then.
	(The total retraining and job placement budget for dealing with those affected is 58 million).

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly amount of benefit was for an  (a) single pensioner,  (b) married pensioner,  (c) single person under pensionable age,  (d) married couple under pensionable age and  (e) married couple with children (i) in 1997 and (ii) at the latest available date.

James Purnell: pursuant to the reply ,  18 May 2007, Official Report, c .  941W
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Average (mean) weekly benefit payments to claimants in Great Britain 
			   
			   1997-98  2005-06 
			 Single pensioner 96 145 
			 Married pensioner couple 134 192 
			 Single non-pensioner 94 110 
			 Married non-pensioner couple 53 61 
			 Married non-pensioner couple with children 41 48 
			  Notes: 1.Data for 1997-98 were collected between April 1997 and March 1998 and data for 2005-06 were collected between April 2005 and March 2006. 2.The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is a nationally representative sample of approximately 28,000 households. 3.Pensioner couple is defined as a couple where the head of the benefit unit is over pension age, defined as 60 for women and 65 for men. 4.Married couples include Civil Partnerships in 2005-06. 5.The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the FRS to Government Office Region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error. 6.Figures are mean-averages of weekly benefits received by claimants only (i.e. excluding non-claimants) and have been rounded to the nearest 1. Figures for couples are average weekly benefit amounts per couple. 7.Figures for weekly benefits include both income-related and non-income related benefits but exclude tax credits.  Source: Family Resources Survey: Great Britain 1997-98 and 2005-06.

Social Security Benefits: Prosecutions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prosecution cases were brought outside the 12 month limitation under section 112 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what percentage such cases represented of cases undertaken in each year.

James Plaskitt: The information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has conducted comparative research on the cost to the NHS of treating the effects of addiction to alcohol and tobacco.

Caroline Flint: The Department, in partnership with the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), published Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers in November 2005. Models of Care was informed by the review of the effectiveness of treatment for alcohol problems commissioned by the NTA. Both publications have been placed in the Library and are available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/Alcoholmisuse/Alcoholmisusegeneralinformation/DH_4130659
	www.nta.nhs.uk/publications/documents/nta_review_of_ the_effectiveness_of_treatment_for_alcohol_problems_ fullreport_2006_alcohol2.pdf
	The Health Technology Assessment Programme, part of the Department's National Institute for Health Research, is currently supporting two studies looking in part at the cost effectiveness of therapies designed to help people stop smoking. These are:
	a systematic review of the effectiveness and an economic analysis of cut down to quit with nicotine replacement therapies; and
	relapse prevention in NHS stop smoking services: a review of current practice, potential effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

Angina: Medical Treatments

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment  (a) her Department and  (b) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has made of the use of enhanced external counter pulsation treatment for angina;
	(2)  which primary care trusts fund the provision of enhanced external counter pulsation treatment;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the availability of enhanced external counter pulsation treatment for individuals with angina in  (a) South East Essex primary care trust and  (b) primary care trusts which do not provide enhanced external counter pulsation treatment.

Rosie Winterton: Enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP) is not routinely offered to patients with angina by the national health service. There is currently insufficient evidence on the benefits of using EECP to treat angina. Although there is currently insufficient evidence, should this situation change the position can be reviewed. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence were made aware of EECP in 2004, but were unable to pursue an appraisal.
	Most central funding is allocated directly to local primary care trusts (PCTs) and health authorities. Individual PCTs are responsible for funding services that reflect the priorities and needs of the local population. The Department is unable to comment on the funding decisions each PCT makes.

Arthritis: Young People

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many children under the age of 16 years in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England (i) were diagnosed with and (ii) required treatment for the juvenile form of rheumatoid arthritis in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many adults in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England (i) were diagnosed with and (ii) required treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available.

Bereavement Counselling: Buckinghamshire

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources and funding have been made available for bereavement services in 2006-07 in Buckinghamshire primary care trust; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: This is a matter for Buckinghamshire primary care trust (PCT). PCTs are responsible for the provision of local services, including bereavement services.

Blood Transfusions

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors she will take into account when making a decision on whether to instigate prion filtration in blood transfusion.

Caroline Flint: The Department will take advice on the use of prion reduction filters from independent evaluations recommended by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee to test the efficacy and reproducibility of the filters, an approach endorsed by Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues and Organs. The Department will take the following factors into account when considering prion reduction filters: the results of clinical safety trials and whether they indicate no adverse effect on patients with the use of filtered blood; that filtered blood units meet the required product specification; the results of an independent evaluation of the efficacy of the filtered in reducing variant Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD) infectivity in blood; estimates of the prevalence of preclinical vCJD or a carrier state in the donor population and consequent estimates of infections prevented through filtration and the benefit of life years saved; the cost of implementation of filtration compared with the benefit received and the availability of other technologies to reduce infectivity in blood.

Blood Transfusions

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department will introduce new treatments and technologies to reduce the risk to public health from blood transfusions on the basis of successful patient trials in Europe and the US.

Caroline Flint: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has a duty to investigate any new technologies which might improve the safety of the blood supply. Currently, NHSBT is investigating vCJD screening, new filters to remove infectious prions, bacterial screening of platelets and pathogen inactivation of platelets. Such assessments consist of review of manufacturers' data on efficacy and quality of the product, laboratory studies and clinical trials as appropriate. NHSBT might need to perform additional studies. Only licenced methods are considered.
	All blood safety measures are considered by the Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood, Tissues, and Organs for Transplantation.

Blood: Contamination

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the documents rediscovered by her Department referred to in the Review of Documentation relating to the Safety of Blood Products1970-1985 relate to self-sufficiency; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The review identifies that 20.5 per cent. of papers have been categorised as relating to self sufficiency. The focus of the review was 1970-85, and 90 per cent. of the documents related to this time period, just under 10 per cent. fell outside this timeline.
	Lord Archer has been advised that the Department will release all papers identified in the review, in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The papers will be released to Lord Archer's inquiry as quickly as possible, in batches on a monthly basis.

British Food

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of food served in  (a) buildings occupied by her Department and  (b) NHS hospitals was of British origin in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

Ivan Lewis: 80 per cent. of food served through the approved supplier of catering and hospitality services to the Departmental estate was home-grown and 20 per cent. produced from other countries in 2005 and 2006.
	National health service trusts select the suppliers that provide food for their trust and information relating to the proportion of food served of British origin in all NHS hospitals is not held centrally. However, NHS Supply Chain manages approximately 55 per cent. of the NHS food market, with the balance via facilities management companies and smaller wholesalers. For the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, NHS Supply Chain sourced 59 per cent. of meat from the United Kingdom, while the remainder was imported. The organisation sourced 40 per cent of fruit and vegetables in the UK, while 60 per cent. was imported.

Dental Services

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people accessed open access dental surgeries by health region in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: Information on people accessing open access dental surgeries is not collected centrally. However, information on patients seen in the last 24 months in all dental primary care settings is available.
	Numbers of patients seen in the previous 24 months ending 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006 are available in Section Fl of Annex 3 of the National Health Service Dental Statistics for England Q3: 31 December 2006 report, and copies are available in the Library.
	Information is as at strategic health authority and primary care trust level in England and the report, published by The Information Centre for health and social care, is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-for-england-q3:-31-december-2006

Departments: Data Protection

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times her Department was found to have been in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The definition of found to have been in breach can be broad. Depending on their nature, breaches by Government Departments of the Data Protection Act 1998 can be dealt with by the Information Commissioner, the courts or by Departments at an informal local level. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Gateway Reference Number

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many documents coded with a gateway reference number were issued by her Department in each year since 2000.

Ivan Lewis: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  External gateway reference numbers issued for the Department for calendar years 2000-06 
			   The Department external gateway reference numbers issued 
			 2000 and 2001(1)  
			 2002(2) 445 
			 2003(2) 887 
			 2004(3) 820 
			 2005(3) 1,045 
			 2006(3) 1,148 
			 (1) For years 2000 and 2001: no figures available as the Department's external gateway was introduced in December 2001. (2) For years 2002 and 2003: the figures include all documents received by the Department's external gateway; and the way the data is captured does not allow reference numbers issued to arms length bodies, other Government Departments and external organisations to be excluded. (3) The Department's external gateway database was introduced in August 2003 and the quality of data is much more robust for years 2004-06 and not comparable to pre-August 2003. 
		
	
	The table highlights the number of documents/communications approved for publication/issue to the national health service/social care and that received a departmental external gateway reference number. However, these figures do not represent actual documents/communications issued, as the publication of some could have been re-considered following approval.
	In addition, the majority of approved documents/communications are not directly issued to the NHS/social care as individual communications. Instead, brief summaries of the document are communicated via weekly, monthly or quarterly bulletins, with web addresses where more detailed information can be found. In some instances, documents may be approved simply for publication on the Department website only.
	No one in the NHS will receive all of these documents/communications. The vast majority are targeted to specific organisations. For example, some will go to ambulance trusts, some to primary care trusts, some to strategic health authorities and so on. The communications are then further targeted so that only the appropriate audience within those organisations receive the documents, for example, cancer leads, public health leads, mental health leads, chief executives, finance directors etc.

Ministerial Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Ministers in her Department have visited India in the last 12 months; on how many occasions each Minister visited India; and what the length was of each visit.

Ivan Lewis: The Government publishes an annual list of Cabinet Ministers' travel overseas costing over 500 along with the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006 and is available in the Library. Information for 2006-07 will be published as soon as it is ready.
	All travel is in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.
	A detailed list of visits by all United Kingdom Ministers to India since 2003 can be found on the British High Commission website at:
	www.britishhighcommission.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPagec=Pagecid=1038154781863

Departments: Internet

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for which Government websites she is responsible; how many visitors each received in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the cost  (a) was of establishing and  (b) has been of maintaining each site.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has ownership of two main websites. They are:
	
		
			  1: The Department of Health website (www.dh.gov.uk) 
			   Visits 
			 2004-05 8,643,914 
			 2005-06 10,980,854 
			 2006-07 10,168,508 
		
	
	 Costs:
	(a) the cost of establishing the Departmental corporate website site on a new service in 2006-07 was 1,570,000
	(b) the cost of maintaining the existing service in parallel in 2006-07 was 2,343,643. This includes the cost of contingency arrangements due to the late delivery of the new service, most of which will be recovered in compensation from the supplier.
	
		
			  2. The NHS website (www.nhs.uk) 
			   Visits 
			 2005-06 12,404,000 
			 2006-07 17,657,409 
		
	
	 Costs:
	The cost in 2006-07 (covering development, content, delivery and staffing) was 1.7 million.
	In addition to the two main websites (above), the Department funds and/or manages a further 111 websites.
	The Department is actively engaged in reducing this number of sites, in accordance with the guidelines and timetables set for website rationalisation under Transformational Government.
	Indeed, the Department has already shut down 27 websites and has plans in place to terminate 53 sites out of the 111 figure above. By the end of this project in 2011, all 111 sites will either be closed or migrated to DH.gov.uk, NHS.uk, NHS Direct, Directgov or Business Link.
	The information in the table lists visitor figures for 35 sites. To assemble the statistics for the other sites would incur disproportionate cost.
	The total estimated cost for these websites in 2006-07 was 699,134. This cost is approximate and cannot be broken down further. Some sites include campaign expenditure and start-up funding and therefore costs will be spread over a period of years.
	
		
			  Other Department of health websites: Average monthly visits, 2006-07 
			   Visits 
			 www.hepc.nhs.uk 6,750 
			 www.immunisation.nhs.uk 35,000 
			 www.gosmokefree.co.uk (1)67,500 
			 www.condomessentialwear.co.uk (1)81,000 
			 www.stayinghard.info (1)103,000 
			 www.talktofrank.com (1)443,000 
			 www.uglysmoking.info (1)123,000 
			 www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk 3,250 
			 www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk 6,000 
			 www.photolibrary.nhs.uk 200 
			 www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk 20,000 
			 www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk 1,625 
			 www.pathologyimprovement.nhs.uk 1,500 
			 www.clean-safe-care.nhs.uk 850 
			 www.18weeks.nhs.uk 9,000 
			 www.socialworkandcare.co.uk (1)23,000 
			 www.smokefreeengland.co.uk 16,000 
			 www.nhsprocure21.dh.gov.uk 1000 
			 www.nhs-procure21.gov.uk 1500 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/iar.nsf?open 150 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/notice.nsf/frames2?openform 200 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/renalnsf/renaltrans.nsf 36 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/depisusers.nsf/Main?readForm 369 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/oldpeople.nsf/main?readform 138 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/pathology/patdis01.nsf 329 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/publichealth/hidis.nsf 197 
			 www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk 64,000 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/cmo/CMOUpdate.nsf/RegistrationMenu?OpenForm 61 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/Cvts/VTSPCW.nsf 24 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/embroadcast.nsf 1,150 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/nhs/cdoweb.nsf/Main?OpenFrameset 181 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/nhsfactsheets.nsf 2,600 
			 www.info.doh.gov.uk/sar/cmopatie.nsf 3,039 
			 www.nationalleadershipnetwork.org 800 
			 www.performance.doh.gov.uk 96,000 
			 Total monthly visits 1,112,449 
			 (1) Peak figure when running campaigns.

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's directorates are; and how many  (a) individuals and  (b) full-time equivalent staff work in them.

Ivan Lewis: The individual and full-time equivalent breakdown for each of the Department's directorates, as at 30 April 2007, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Directorate  Number of individuals  Number of full time equivalents 
			 Clinical Programmes 67 61.6 
			 Commercial 5 4.6 
			 Commissioning 264 257.4 
			 Communications 107 105.4 
			 Connecting for Health 29 28.5 
			 Departmental Management 596 583.0 
			 Equality and Human Rights(1) 24 22.7 
			 Experience Involvement and Professional Leadership 75 72.9 
			 Finance and Investment 215 208.6 
			 Health and Care Partnerships 94 92.3 
			 Health Improvement(2) 203 196.4 
			 Healthcare Quality 51 48.2 
			 Health Protection, International Health and Scientific Development 149 145.9 
			 Policy and Strategy 137 133.5 
			 Provider Development 44 43.0 
			 Research and Development 55 51.0 
			 Social Care 72 68.5 
			 Workforce 106 101.2 
			 (1) Headed by a Director rather than a Director General. (2) Includes Regional Public Health Groups.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff funded by the public purse in her Department are classified as people without posts.

Ivan Lewis: The Department currently has 47 people not in permanent posts but carrying out meaningful work across the organisation until a permanent post can be identified to which they are then deployed.

Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of her Department's special advisers were on  (a) paid and  (b) unpaid leave in order to assist with party political matters under section 22 (iii) of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers on 16 May 2007; and how many days' leave each adviser was granted.

Ivan Lewis: Special advisers involvement in party political matters is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, including section 22 (iii), and the guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary in December 2006 and May 2007, copies of which are available in the Library.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at  (a) her Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the NHS in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost was of those bonuses in each year.

Ivan Lewis: The available information is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of bonuses awarded  Total cost () 
			 2004-05 123 642,625.00 
			 2005-06 172 884,985.88 
			 2006-07 164 1,073,050.62 
		
	
	The information for years between 1997-98 and 2003-04 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) 
			   Number of bonuses awarded  Total cost () 
			 2005-06 62 254,567.60 
			 2006-07 60 342,597.00 
		
	
	
		
			  NHS PASA (Purchasing and Supply Agency) 
			   Number of bonuses awarded  Total cost () 
			 2005-06 2 7,430.00 
			 2006-07 7 31,758.45 
		
	
	Both the MHRA and NHS PASA do not hold bonus information going back any further then 2005-06.
	The national health service does not employ senior civil servants.

Departments: Public Relations

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by her Department on public relations in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available.

Diabetes

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in each of the last 30 years.

Rosie Winterton: The number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is not available in the format requested. Figures are not available for type 1 and type 2 diabetes separately.
	The total number of patients aged 17 and over on practice registers in England who have an appropriate diabetes diagnosis in 2004-05 was 1.77 million people(1).
	The total number of patients aged 17 and over on practice registers in England who have an appropriate diabetes diagnosis in 2005-06 was 1.89 million people(2).
	It is estimated that over 90 per cent. of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
	 Notes:
	The difference between 1.77 million in 2004-05 and 1.89 million in 2005-06 does not mean that extra 0.12 million patients were diagnosed within those 12 months. The figures are a function of diagnosis recording on practice registers, and therefore were subject to data quality review in that period, as the QOF was being established. Patients with diabetes aged under 17 are not included because they are regarded as receiving their diabetes management in the secondary care sector.
	 Sources:
	(1 )()2004-05 Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) data published by The Information Centre for health and social care. This is the first year of data from this source.
	(2 )Source 2005-06 QOF data published by The Information Centre for health and social care.

Doctors: Training

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to safeguard patient care at the beginning of August 2007 when doctors in training will all change jobs.

Rosie Winterton: Not all doctors in training will change jobs on the same date at the beginning of August. Arrangements for 2007 will reflect current practice as most doctors at the level equivalent to the senior house officer grade will start in the first week of August, while doctors at the equivalent of the specialist registrar grade will have staggered start dates.
	To ensure service is maintained at the beginning of August and patient care is not compromised, NHS Employers are working with trusts to plan now for managing the transition in the period after 1 August. These plans include advertising locum posts on NHS jobs to fill training posts and using extensions to contracts or service posts.

Doctors: Training

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons were for abandoning the policy of staggered changeover dates for doctors in training posts.

Rosie Winterton: The previous policy has not been abandoned. Arrangements for 2007 will reflect current practice.
	In the past most doctors at senior house officer (SHO) level changed over in the first week of August. The doctors at specialist registrar (SpR) level traditionally change over in July, September or October.
	New specialty training programmes commence in August 2007. Most doctors at the level equivalent to the SHO grade will continue to start in the first week of August. Doctors at the equivalent of SpR level will continue to have staggered start dates.

Doctors: Training

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2007,  Official Report, column 582W, on the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) website, whether her Department monitors the number of visitors to the MTAS website; and what other information about visits to the MTAS website her Department monitors.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 6 June 2007
	The Department's supplier monitors the number of visitors to the Medical Training Application Service website and page visits. The total average daily visits and peak daily visits are reported to the Department monthly. The most recent figures are for the month of April and are shown in the table.
	
		
			   April 
			 Total number of visits to the website in period 245,314 
			 Average number of visits per day within the period 8,177 
			 Peak number of visits in one day within the period 22,423 
			 Cumulative number of users registered 51,474

Elderly: Malnutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what work she has undertaken on her national action plan on malnutrition among elderly patients; and when she plans to publish the outcome of that work.

Ivan Lewis: The Department and stakeholders are drawing up an action plan to tackle the nutritional care of all adults in health and social care settings (which will include older people). The plan will be made available once it has been shared and discussed with stakeholders this summer.

GMOs: Contamination

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost of the GM rice (LL601) contamination incident to  (a) food businesses,  (b) Government Departments,  (c) local authorities, including port authorities,  (d) the Food Standards Agency and  (e) the catering and food service sectors.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency has not estimated the cost of the genetically modified rice (LL601) incident to itself, food businesses, Government Departments, local authorities (including port authorities) or the catering and food service sectors.

Health Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to maintain patient care when all junior doctors move posts on 1 August.

Rosie Winterton: To ensure service is maintained at the beginning of August and patient care is not compromised, strategic health authorities are working with trusts and NHS Employers are working with the Department to plan now for managing the transition in the period after 1 August. These plans include advertising locum posts on NHS Jobs to fill training posts and using extensions to contracts or service posts.
	Not all doctors in training will change jobs on the same date at the beginning of August. Arrangements for 2007 will reflect current practice as most doctors at the level equivalent to the senior house officer grade will start in the first week of August, while doctors at the equivalent of the specialist registrar grade will have staggered start dates.

Health Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of the discussion paper on providers which she presented to the King's Fund on 7 December 2006.

Ivan Lewis: A copy has been placed in the Library.

Health Services: Social Work

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to re-examine the role of social care providers in the running of LINKS programmes following the recent Health Select Committee report on patient and public health involvement in the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: As stated in the Government response to the Health Select Committee report, laid in Parliament on Monday 11 June, an organisation being a social care provider does not prevent it from also advocating on behalf of patients and users of health and social care services. We believe it is more than reasonable to expect potential host organisations to demonstrate that they are able to manage their existing responsibilities as well as take on the role of supporting a LINk.
	The host will be accountable to the LINk and in its support function will be required to follow the LINk's direction irrespective of what its own interests might be. The sort of organisations that we expect to become hosts are used to dealing with these kinds of issues all the time, as indeed are local authorities.
	The model contract specification currently being drafted, addresses this issue and will include a requirement for an organisation to demonstrate it can deliver the contract without any conflict of interest.

Health Visitors

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect of the conclusions of Agenda for Change on  (a) roles and functions and  (b) pay and conditions of health visitors.

Rosie Winterton: The Agenda for Change pay system does not specify the roles or functions of staff but it does provide an objective means of determining the weight of jobs whose role and function is determined by the employer, and therefore the pay band in which those jobs should be placed. To assist employers in objectively assessing health visitor jobs, two national job profiles have been prepared for typical health visitor roles, which would fall in pay band 6 and pay band 7. Health visitors whose jobs match these profiles would have basic pay in the ranges of 23,458 to 31,779 and 28,313 to 37,326 (1 November 2007) respectively.

Health Visitors: Manpower

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the trends in numbers of health visitors working in the NHS over the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many health visitors were working for the NHS in  (a) September 2005 and  (b) September 2006;
	(3)  what work force planning the NHS has undertaken, with particular reference to the future recruitment and retention of health visitors;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of  (a) the age profile of health visitors working for the NHS and  (b) its implications for future recruitment and retention of health visitors.

Rosie Winterton: Table 1 shows the number of health visitors in the national health service in England over the last 10 years.
	The number of health visitors has remained static over the last 10 years but there has been significant growth in the overall number of nurses working in primary and community care settings in both 2005-06 of 1,039 (1 per cent.) and since 1997 of 29,543 (38.2 per cent.).
	Work force planning in terms of the recruitment and retention of health visitors is a matter for local work force planners in local primary care trusts and strategic health authorities as they are best placed to assess the health visiting needs of their local population.
	Table 2 shows the age profile of health visitors as at September 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: health visitors employed in the NHS (England) as at September each year (headcount) and (FTE) 
			   Headcount  Full time equivalent 
			 1997 12,410 10,030 
			 1998 12,570 10,070 
			 1999 12,800 10,160 
			 2000 12,827 10,046 
			 2001 13,053 10,186 
			 2002 12,774 9,912 
			 2003 12,984 9,999 
			 2004 13,303 10,137 
			 2005 12,818 9,809 
			 2006(1) 12,034 9,376 
			 (1) More accurate validation in 2006 has resulted in 232 headcount duplicate records being identified and removed from the non-medical census.  Source: Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: age profile of health visitors as at September 2006 
			  Headcount 
			   Health visitor 
			 Under 25 13 
			 25 to 29 274 
			 30 to 34 672 
			 35 to 39 1,402 
			 40 to 44 2,257 
			 45 to 49 2,590 
			 50 to 54 2,126 
			 55 to 59 1,588 
			 60 to 64 672 
			 65 and over 89 
			 Unknown 351 
			 All staff 12,034

Health Visitors: Training

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places there are for trainees wishing to acquire health visiting qualifications.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the purpose is of the web based surveillance system for  Clostridium difficile and MRSA; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Web-based reporting systems were introduced for all cases of  Clostridium difficile associated disease in patients aged two years and over from April 2007 and for all cases of bloodstream infection caused by methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from October 2005.
	These web-based systems replace the quarterly reports sent by trusts to the Health Protection Agency regional offices. They have been introduced to support initiatives to control and prevent healthcare associated infections. These systems allow more efficient collection of reports and enable trusts to enter data at any time and view their own data. They provide trusts with a more accurate picture and contribute to building a better evidence base regarding risk factors for infection as trusts can see the data to assess the effectiveness of the interventions to reduce infections.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Hospital Wards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) mixed wards and  (b) single sex wards there were in each hospital in the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust in each of the last two years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Hospital Wards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many wards in Hull and East Yorkshire hospitals NHS Trust were closed in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally. Responsibility for local health services lies with the local national health service. It is now for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to plan, develop and improve services for local people in accordance with local health needs.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Redundancy

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many redundancies were made by Hull and East Yorkshire hospitals NHS Trust in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: No redundancies have been reported for the Hull and East Yorkshire hospitals NHS Trust in 2006-07.

Junior Doctors: Taunton

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors are registered in Taunton constituency.

Rosie Winterton: The General Medical Council (GMC) keeps an up-to-date register of qualified doctors; all doctors must be registered with the GMC before they can work in the United Kingdom. Further information on the CMC can be found at:
	www.gmc-uk.org
	The number of doctors in training and equivalent grades employed by national health service organisations within Taunton constituency is shown in the table.
	Hospital and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental staff, showing doctors in training and equivalent grades for NHS organisations within Taunton constituency as at 30 September 2006.
	
		
			  Number (headcount) 
			   Total  Yeovil District  Hospital NHS Foundation Trust  Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust 
			 All staff 568 185 383 
			 Doctors in training and equivalents of which: 269 75 194 
			 Registrar group 76 10 66 
			 Senior house officer 133 31 102 
			 Foundation year two 19 19 0 
			 House officer 41 15 26 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census.

Lincolnshire

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when  (a) she and  (b) one of her ministerial colleagues last visited Lincolnshire.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has accepted an invitation to visit The Pilgrim hospital in Boston at a date to be agreed. No other Ministers have visited Lincolnshire.

Medical Training

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 584, on medical training, whether the medical training application system was subject to formal quality assurance.

Rosie Winterton: I refer to the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart) on 19 April 2007,  Official Report, column 745.

Medical Training Application Service

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 613-17, on the Medical Training Application Service, how many of the fixed-term specialty training posts available in 2007 will be converted into run-through training posts in 2008.

Rosie Winterton: It is too early at this stage to say exactly what run-through and fixed-term posts will be available next year. This will depend, as it did this year, upon the results of local discussions between trusts and deaneries to establish the appropriate number of training posts required to meet patient and service needs.

Medical Training Application Service

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 613-17, on the Medical Training Application Service, where in the public domain the figures for the number of the medical training posts can be found.

Rosie Winterton: The number of training posts agreed for the first round was available on the Medical Training Application Service while it was open.

Medical Training Application Service

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 613-7, on the Medical Training Application Service, how many training posts, in addition to those remaining from the 23,500 available after Round 1, there will be in Round 2; and when Round 2 interviews will commence.

Rosie Winterton: Interviews for the further recruitment round will be managed locally and will start once the offers for each individual specialty in round one have been accepted or rejected. The number of additional training posts will include at least 200 run-through posts plus substantial further opportunities.

Medical Training Application Service

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 613-7, on the Medical Training Application Service, how many foundation year two applicants have failed to get an interview for ST1 posts.

Rosie Winterton: As outlined in the statement by the Review of Recruitment and Selection for Specialty and General Practitioner Training in England on 4 April 2007, all eligible applicants to specialty training (excluding general practice) in England will be invited to an interview for their affirmed first preference.

NHS Work Force

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1121W, on the NHS work force, when she expects the East of England strategic health authority to complete its feasibility study into establishing a local voluntary guaranteed employment scheme; whether she plans to publish the study; and when her Department plans to take a decision on the viability of such schemes.

Rosie Winterton: One of the recommendations of The Action Plan - A Social Partnership Forum Action Plan for Maximising Employment Opportunities for Newly Qualified Healthcare Professionals in a Changing NHS published on 13 April is that East of England strategic health authority undertake a feasibility study to maximise employment opportunities for newly qualified health care professionals. This will include assessing the feasibility of an employment guarantee scheme for newly qualified health care professionals.
	The feasibility study will last for one year and was officially launched on 15 May by East of England strategic health authority.
	The outcome of the feasibility study will determine whether employment guarantee schemes are a viable option. If so, the nature and length of these schemes will be defined upon relevant factors established through the study.
	Stakeholder representatives on the social partnership forum will be involved in this decision-making process and the final outcome, once known, will be published.

NHS Work Force

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2045W, on the NHS work force, what her Department's most recent estimate is of changes in the NHS work force in the financial year 2006-07.

Rosie Winterton: The recently published census showed there has been a small reduction in the overall national health service work force of 8,118 full-time equivalent (FTE) or 0.7 per cent. of the total (17,390 headcount) in England from September 2005 to September 2006. This should be seen in the context of there being almost 250,000 FTE (280,000 headcount) more staff working in the NHS in England than in 1997 as there are now over 34,000 FTE (35,000 HC) doctors and over 65,000 FTE (79,000 HC) more nurses in the NHS than in 1997.
	Doctors account for 13.9 per cent. of the FTE increase in the work force and nurses 26.5 per cent., compared with just 5.5 per cent. managers.
	There has been an increase in the number of doctors and an increase in the number of permanent qualified nurses now in the system. In addition, there are now fewer managers working in the NHS, the first fall since 1995.
	The numbers show that the work force overall is starting to re-balance with demand equalling supply.

NHS: Consultants

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date her Department received Treasury approval for the new contract for NHS consultants agreed in October 2003.

Rosie Winterton: New contracts for doctors formed part of the discussions between the Department and HM Treasury during the 2002 Spending Review, which concluded in July 2002.

NHS: Consultants

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department set up a  (a) working group,  (b) steering group and  (c) any other regular series of meetings on the new contract for NHS consultants prior to October 2003.

Rosie Winterton: The Department set up a number of working groups and reference groups, which included key stakeholders, during the negotiation and implementation of the consultant contract.

NHS: Finance

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when account was taken of forecast rates of inflation in determining the  (a) prospective increase in the rates of pay for NHS nurses and  (b) proposed increase in the cost of a prescription.

Rosie Winterton: The review body on nurses and other health professions is required to have regard to the Government's inflation target, and its consideration of pay and price changes in relation to its recommendation of a 2.5 per cent. increase in nurses pay this year is set out in chapter 7 of its Twenty Second Report on Nursing an Other Health Professions 2007 (Cm 7029) published in March.
	No account was taken of forecast rates of inflation in determining the increase in the prescription charge from 1 April 2007.

NHS: Finance

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average per capita social services spending has been  (a) in England and  (b) in each local authority area since 1979.

Ivan Lewis: There would be disproportionate costs incurred to produce information at this level of detail across the whole time period requested. The following table therefore shows the information (in cash terms, including adults and children's social care) from 2000-01, from which time an improved means was introduced for collecting these data through an annual return.
	
		
			  The average per capita social services spending from 2000-01 to 2005-06 for each council 
			  
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Cumbria 169 189 217 247 283 308 
			 Northumberland 212 240 260 314 349 387 
			 Gateshead 278 288 322 338 377 396 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 282 306 416 378 412 429 
			 North Tyneside 251 274 350 396 405 442 
			 South Tyneside 286 303 332 403 511 429 
			 Sunderland 236 257 290 330 334 347 
			 Hartlepool UA 232 242 287 305 356 385 
			 Middlesbrough UA 243 274 313 324 344 382 
			 Redcar and Cleveland UA 225 236 260 274 324 347 
			 Stockton-on-Tees UA 194 205 221 236 263 294 
			 Durham 204 226 260 319 349 365 
			 Darlington UA 197 217 254 311 294 316 
			 Barnsley 203 223 259 251 322 340 
			 Doncaster 212 224 237 273 285 304 
			 Rotherham 227 237 260 288 329 353 
			 Sheffield 254 260 270 310 335 358 
			 Bradford 218 229 258 303 335 343 
			 Calderdale 216 229 252 285 308 335 
			 Kirklees 207 226 247 268 321 358 
			 Leeds 219 246 273 312 341 361 
			 Wakefield 203 215 233 270 309 340 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire UA 154 161 188 217 246 261 
			 Kingston upon hull UA 300 312 338 345 370 428 
			 North-east Lincolnshire UA 208 216 262 282 296 333 
			 North Lincolnshire UA 189 209 246 268 298 313 
			 North Yorkshire 159 167 201 238 266 282 
			 York UA 166 169 208 228 242 260 
			 Bolton 213 224 240 275 307 333 
			 Bury 200 219 246 270 307 323 
			 Manchester 324 368 414 462 515 557 
			 Oldham 232 241 270 336 324 349 
			 Rochdale 238 249 264 275 310 350 
			 Salford 296 310 338 373 409 433 
			 Stockport 224 229 249 278 309 322 
			 Tameside 233 239 258 285 305 323 
			 Trafford 198 215 240 267 286 312 
			 Wigan 200 216 238 263 290 303 
			 Knowsley 244 263 308 326 354 389 
			 Liverpool 354 336 377 414 412 443 
			 Sefton 238 249 295 316 337 352 
			 St. Helens 246 256 263 295 330 372 
			 Wirral 239 269 307 329 367 382 
			 Cheshire 171 187 211 228 259 288 
			 Halton UA 212 221 251 300 331 362 
			 Warrington UA 163 177 207 228 259 286 
			 Lancashire 194 206 237 286 313 331 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA 244 260 309 331 369 390 
			 Blackpool UA 266 271 292 366 413 428 
			 Warwickshire 151 168 197 235 255 267 
			 Birmingham 266 277 302 332 371 411 
			 Coventry 248 257 300 319 347 393 
			 Dudley 188 202 231 260 292 318 
			 Sandwell 261 283 322 352 425 433 
			 Solihull 184 196 232 268 316 348 
			 Walsall 243 263 319 394 439 457 
			 Wolverhampton 268 281 315 343 386 424 
			 Staffordshire 155 167 190 225 254 289 
			 Stoke-on-Trent UA 221 240 276 306 345 377 
			 Herefordshire UA 174 181 218 235 265 283 
			 Worcestershire 170 178 207 254 270 288 
			 Shropshire 161 178 203 252 258 271 
			 Telford and the Wrekin UA 192 195 214 236 277 295 
			 Lincolnshire 164 172 204 256 292 303 
			 Northamptonshire 190 177 221 265 301 322 
			 Derbyshire 194 202 225 268 293 313 
			 Derby UA 233 247 253 283 304 329 
			 Leicestershire 134 143 167 200 215 229 
			 Leicester UA 258 276 309 330 357 379 
			 Rutland UA 139 151 168 182 197 218 
			 Nottinghamshire 172 181 212 280 305 315 
			 Nottingham UA 287 298 324 338 371 375 
			 Hertfordshire 189 207 236 285 315 333 
			 Norfolk 185 198 233 277 309 356 
			 Oxfordshire 190 200 214 252 262 265 
			 Suffolk 177 193 225 269 307 336 
			 Bedfordshire 181 192 216 261 294 284 
			 Luton UA 239 253 266 293 355 376 
			 Buckinghamshire 157 171 195 224 265 274 
			 Milton Keynes UA 183 191 224 233 246 283 
			 Bracknell Forest UA 201 219 226 246 266 298 
			 West Berkshire UA 188 201 232 245 286 305 
			 Reading UA 241 270 296 324 351 357 
			 Slough UA 304 265 313 340 352 370 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead UA 188 190 210 243 274 280 
			 Wokingham UA 156 177 195 228 228 248 
			 Essex 184 200 241 290 320 347 
			 Southend-on-Sea UA 248 266 308 341 375 386 
			 Thurrock UA 202 220 241 268 299 99 
			 Cambridgeshire 161 178 203 248 277 307 
			 Peterborough UA 231 237 283 267 307 330 
			 Camden 471 469 480 502 525 540 
			 Greenwich 402 414 447 477 509 517 
			 Hackney 489 464 469 576 556 586 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 492 509 523 562 557 566 
			 Islington 596 591 613 645 670 667 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 462 434 438 430 424 411 
			 Lambeth 473 497 519 589 607 631 
			 Lewisham 384 429 452 498 549 546 
			 Southwark 523 501 496 529 589 603 
			 Tower Hamlets 450 502 537 540 581 615 
			 Wandsworth 337 323 357 355 429 404 
			 Westminster 516 514 537 513 505 472 
			 City of London 1,005 929 920 926 816 817 
			 Barking and Dagenham 373 391 439 468 497 521 
			 Barnet 271 316 322 358 353 388 
			 Bexley 216 232 256 279 291 306 
			 Brent 278 272 303 358 360 381 
			 Bromley 274 235 235 269 289 301 
			 Croydon 242 268 315 364 380 401 
			 Ealing 285 309 318 356 383 404 
			 Enfield 266 285 310 370 347 388 
			 Haringey 478 529 521 614 563 583 
			 Harrow 267 278 290 310 350 361 
			 Havering 210 232 259 265 304 312 
			 Hillingdon 229 326 357 383 433 453 
			 Hounslow 283 301 326 376 408 439 
			 Kingston upon Thames 231 246 284 306 326 347 
			 Merton 245 261 276 313 314 309 
			 Newham 424 431 460 496 491 520 
			 Redbridge 264 270 284 310 307 317 
			 Richmond upon Thames 227 323 321 321 329 342 
			 Sutton 228 227 266 288 311 333 
			 Waltham Forest 353 355 372 403 401 403 
			 Isle of Wight UA 203 212 259 301 334 361 
			 Surrey 167 180 205 248 281 297 
			 West Sussex 183 195 235 276 299 317 
			 Dorset 165 179 200 252 279 310 
			 Bournemouth UA 260 274 302 327 347 376 
			 Poole UA 174 196 225 231 255 280 
			 Hampshire 141 153 177 199 239 251 
			 Portsmouth UA 257 262 303 308 340 359 
			 Southampton UA 249 225 297 330 345 354 
			 East Sussex 211 227 264 320 350 370 
			 Brighton and Hove UA 267 285 332 376 430 439 
			 Wiltshire 163 164 192 233 265 289 
			 Swindon UA 178 200 232 250 279 292 
			 Kent 211 225 270 302 310 311 
			 Medway Towns UA 169 188 208 231 257 269 
			 Cornwall 167 184 209 256 293 305 
			 Gloucestershire 168 176 208 277 307 315 
			 Somerset 167 174 203 231 264 288 
			 Isles of Scilly  192 250 265 237 264 
			 Bath and North-east Somerset UA 192 211 245 260 288 294 
			 Bristol UA 242 261 298 325 369 381 
			 North Somerset UA 157 168 223 288 322 337 
			 South Gloucestershire UA 140 153 177 198 226 265 
			 Devon 178 189 231 253 277 294 
			 Plymouth UA 240 253 282 309 362 379 
			 Torbay UA 238 250 301 392 425 445 
			
			 England total 222 236 265 301 329 348 
			  Notes: 1. The table shows total net cost of social services per head of population, this is the total spend excluding capital charges minus income received from client contributions and other income which includes income from the national health service. 2. In 2003-04 the supported people grant was introduced which should be taken into consideration when making comparisons over time. The expenditure information is actual spend and has not been adjusted for inflation. 3. Data are unavailable for the Isles of Scilly for 2000-01.

NHS: Finance

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much budget allocation was provided for  (a) NHS Greater Manchester,  (b) Tameside and Glossop primary care trust and  (c) Oldham primary care trust in each of the last three years, broken down by main categories of activity; and how much was spent against each budget in each case.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for meeting the health needs of their population using the resources available to them. The following table shows the revenue resource limit for PCTs in Greater Manchester from the published accounts and the draft figures for 2006-07.
	
		
			   million 
			  Organisation name  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Oldham PCT 267.9 300.4 318.5 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 263.5 292.0 311.5 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 357.9 392.3 418.2 
			 Bolton PCT 300.5 342.6 351.2 
			 Bury PCT 194.4 214.3 231.6 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 247.1 274.4 288.5 
			 Salford Teaching PCT 325.6 344.3 368.3 
			 Manchester PCT 672.5 735.4 781.6 
			 Stockport PCT 313.8 356.8 366.2 
			 Trafford PCT 239.7 271.4 275.3

NHS: Labour Turnover

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of NHS staff who left the NHS  (a) to work in the private health sector and  (b) to work outside the UK in each of the last three years, broken down by category of job.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS: Overseas Workers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision there is for those UK citizens who are not ordinarily resident in the UK through undertaking long term charitable or aid work abroad to access NHS care in the UK.

Rosie Winterton: Anyone who is not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom is subject to the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended and will be liable for charges for any hospital treatment they receive unless they are exempt from charge under a number of exemption categories listed in these regulations.
	One exemption category relates to people engaged in employment outside the UK for no more than five years. Another relates to anyone who is working overseas as a missionary for an organisation with its principal place of business in the UK, for any length of time and regardless of whether they derive a salary or wage from the organisation, or receive any type of funding or assistance from the organisation. We have no plans to extend that to other unpaid charitable or aid workers. Such people will be able to access national health service hospital treatment, but they will be liable for charges for it unless considered exempt under another category.

NHS: Sick Leave

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average sickness absence rate was for NHS staff in 2006.

Rosie Winterton: Average sickness absence for national health service organisations (excluding foundation trusts) from April to December 2006 is estimated at 10 working days, reported through the financial information management system. This figure equates to 4.0 per cent.

NHS: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio of speciality training to fixed term speciality training appointments is by speciality in England.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested in show in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage split of posts by post type 
			Post types (percentage) 
			  Specialty  Theme  Specialty training  Fixed-term specialist training appointment (FTSTA)  Academic 
			 Acute care common stem (ACCS) Acute medicine 83 17 0 
			  Anaesthesia 80 20 0 
			  Emergency medicine 70 29 1 
			  Intensive care medicine 0 100 0 
			 Acute medicine  100 0 0 
			 Allergy  100 0 0 
			 Anaesthesia  71 28 0 
			 Audiological medicine  67 0 33 
			 Cardiology  98 0 2 
			 Cardiothoracic surgery  83 0 17 
			 Chemical pathology  100 0 0 
			 Child and adolescent psychiatry  100 0 0 
			 Clinical genetics  80 0 20 
			 Clinical neurophysiology  88 0 13 
			 Clinical oncology  97 0 3 
			 Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics  75 0 25 
			 Clinical radiology  96 0 4 
			 Core medical training  65 34 1 
			 Dermatology  100 0 0 
			 Emergency medicine  94 6 0 
			 Endocrinology and diabetes  97 0 3 
			 Forensic psychiatry  96 0 4 
			 Gastroenterology  100 0 0 
			 General adult psychiatry  99 0 1 
			 General practice  100 0 0 
			 General surgery  99 0 1 
			 Genito-urinary medicine  100 0 0 
			 Geriatric medicine  97 0 3 
			 Haematoloqy  95 0 5 
			 Histopathology  100 0 0 
			 Immunology  80 0 20 
			 Infectious diseases  100 0 0 
			 Infectious diseases and medical microbiology and virology (MMV) Medical microbiology 100 0 0 
			 Infectious diseases and MMV Virology 50 0 50 
			 Medical microbiology and virology  87 13 0 
			 Medical microbiology and virology  100 0 0 
			 Medical oncology  75 0 25 
			 Medical ophthalmology  100 0 0 
			 Neurology  90 0 10 
			 Neurosurgery  60 39 1 
			 Nuclear medicine  100 0 0 
			 Obstetrics and gynaecology  85 14 1 
			 Occupational medicine  100 0 0 
			 Old age psychiatry  100 0 0 
			 Ophthalmology  59 40 0 
			 Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS)  78 22 0 
			 Otolaryngology (ENT)  98 0 2 
			 Paediatric cardiology  100 0 0 
			 Paediatric surgery  100 0 0 
			 Paediatrics  72 28 1 
			 Palliative medicine  100 0 0 
			 Plastic surgery  98 0 2 
			 Psychiatry  67 32 1 
			 Psychiatry of learning disability  100 0 0 
			 Psychotherapy  100 0 0 
			 Public health  90 0 10 
			 Rehabilitation medicine  96 0 4 
			 Renal medicine  93 0 7 
			 Respiratory Medicine  100 0 0 
			 Rheumatology  96 0 4 
			 Sports and exercise medicine  100 0 0 
			 Surgery in general Cardiothoracic Surgery 3 97 0 
			 Surgery in general General surgery 33 66 1 
			 Surgery in general Generic 56 42 2 
			 Surgery in general Otolaryngology (ENT) 36 62 2 
			 Surgery in general Paediatric surgery 45 55 0 
			 Surgery in general Plastic surgery 38 61 1 
			 Surgery in general Trauma and orthopaedic surgery 41 59 0 
			 Surgery in general Urology 41 57 3 
			 Trauma and orthopaedic surgery  98 0 2 
			 Urology  96 0 4 
			   14,600 4,400 200 
			 Grand total  (76) (23) (1)

Nurses

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans she has to maximise the amount of time nurses spend on directly caring for patients;
	(2)  what plans she has to minimise the paperwork which needs to be completed by nurses as part of their duties;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the proportion of time spent on a shift by a nurse who was assigned to  (a) administrative work and  (b) caring duties in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest date for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: No estimates have been made centrally. Nurses work in teams of nursing staff of different grades as well as being members of multi-disciplinary teams. They will spend differing time on patient care according to their roles and responsibilities in the team.
	The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) is working with the National Health Service Institute for Innovation and Improvement and the Royal College of Nursing to promote the spread of good practice being generated by the productive ward programme. The programme will remove processes that distract nurses and will help staff reorganise wards so that the focus is on needs of patients and on easing the workload generated by some activities.
	The report of the programme, Releasing Time to Care: Productive Ward, was released by the CNO in April and aims to promote greater efficiency so that more nursing time is released for direct patient care.

Nutrition: Drinking Water

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is the policy of her Department to support the World Health Organisation definition of water as an important nutrient for the human body and critical to human life.

Caroline Flint: Yes.

Physiotherapy: Graduates

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the minutes of her latest meeting with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy on physiotherapy graduates.

Ivan Lewis: The Secretary of State for Health met the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy on 11 July 2006. There were no formal minutes of the meeting.

Public Private Partnerships: Hearing Aids

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the public private partnership for the provision of digital hearing aids; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Following a public tendering process, the National Framework Contract (NFC) Public Private Partnership (PPP) with David Ormerod Hearing Centres and Ultravox Holdings plc was announced in October 2003.
	The contract allowed national health service trusts to use the two private hearing aid dispensers to see NHS patients.
	It was fundamental to the NFC that the quality of service, and hearing aid, that the patient received mirror those of the local NHS audiology department. Quality assurance was key in the initiative. Both companies demonstrated their commitment to meeting these standards and invested resources in terms of equipment, information technology and staff training in order to do so.
	The NFC PPP was successful in increasing capacity in the NHS, with over 50,000 patient journeys completed through the partnership. NHS trusts have also benefitted from the competitive pricing and quality of service provision available through the PPP.

Social Services: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was allocated to Warrington borough council to fund social services in each year since 1997, broken down by funding stream;
	(2)  how much funding was allocated to Warrington borough council to provide services for  (a) adults with learning difficulties and  (b) children and young people with learning difficulties in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 11 June 2007
	The Government do not make allocations to social care (other than for relatively limited specific grants) but only for local government as a whole.
	Within those allocations, it is for local councils to fund and provide appropriate services for their population in the light of local needs and priorities.
	Overall, local councils will receive more than 65 billion in 2007-08, a 4.9 per cent. increase on 2006-07.

Transplant Surgery

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people who require organ transplants; how many and what proportion of people requiring donated organs received them in the most recent year for which figures are available; what the shortfall is; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The number of people registered on the organ transplant list as at 20 May 2007 is shown in table 1. Table 2 shows the number of people joining the list in years 1997, 2000 and 2003 and the percentage that have subsequently received transplants or are still listed.
	The transplant list does not reflect the true extent of need for a transplant, as clinicians are reluctant to list more patients than are likely to receive organs.
	An organ donation taskforce is currently looking at the barriers to increasing organ donation and will put recommendations to the Department later this year.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations for transplant listcurrent (as at 20 May 2007) 
			  Organ  Active  Suspended( 1)  Total 
			 Kidney 6,326 1,842 8,168 
			 Pancreas 62 44 106 
			 Kidney/pancreas 145 80 225 
			 Heart 97 6 103 
			 Lung(s) 269 7 276 
			 Heart/lungs 25 1 26 
			 Liver 316 4 320 
			 Total organs 7,240 1,984 9,224 
			 (1) Suspended means the patient has been temporarily removed from the list. This happens for such reasons as being too ill to undergo the operation or being away on holiday. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Numbers joining the active organ transplant list in the year and percentage transplanted (deceased organ donor) since or still listed (at 22 May 2007) 
			  Organ  Joining  Percentage transplanted  Percentage still listed 
			  2003
			 Kidney 1,964 54.8 29.4 
			 Pancreas 12 50.0 8.3 
			 Kidney/pancreas 72 75.0 13.9 
			 Heart 196 65.8 1.0 
			 Lung(s) 174 58.0 4.0 
			 Heart/lungs 39 17.9 2.6 
			 Liver 839 82.1  
			 Total organs 3,296 62.6 18.1 
			 
			  2000
			 Kidney 1,985 66.1 10.1 
			 Pancreas 16 37.5 6.2 
			 Kidney/pancreas 68 79.4 2.9 
			 Heart 222 64.0 0.9 
			 Lung(s) 178 59.6 1.7 
			 Heart/lungs 92 38.0 1.1 
			 Liver 785 84.1  
			 Total organs 3,346 69.2 6.3 
			 
			  1997
			 Kidney 2,210 70.6 3.4 
			 Pancreas 5 80.0  
			 Kidney/pancreas 34 73.5 2.9 
			 Heart 365 67.1  
			 Lung(s) 185 51.4  
			 Heart/lungs 80 56.2  
			 Liver 726 80.3  
			 Total organs 3,605 71.0 2.1

vCJD: Blood

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to be in a position to make a decision on the steps her Department will take to reduce the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease transmission via the transfusion of blood from asymptomatic carriers.

Caroline Flint: There is currently no validated diagnostic test that would allow blood donors to be assessed as asymptomatic carriers of variant Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Therefore, together with the National Blood Service, the Department has introduced a range of measures to minimise the possible risk of secondary vCJD infection through the blood supply. In July 1998 the Department announced that plasma for the manufacture of blood products, such as clotting factors, would be obtained from non-United Kingdom sources. Since October 1999, white blood cells (which may carry the greatest risk of transmitting vCJD) have been removed from all blood used in transfusion. In August 2002 the Department announced that fresh frozen plasma for treating babies and young children born after 1 January 1996 would be obtained from the United States of America, and from summer 2005 this was extended to all children under 16 years of age. In December 2002, the Department completed its purchase of the largest remaining independent USA plasma collector, Life Resources Incorporated to secure long-term supplies of non-UK blood plasma for the benefit of national health service patients. Since April 2004, blood donations have not been accepted from people who have themselves received a blood transfusion in the UK since 1980. This was extended in August 2004 to include apheresis donors and donors who are unsure if they had previously had a blood transfusion. Since late 2005, blood donations have not been accepted from donors whose blood was transfused to patients who later developed vCJD.
	The Department will continue to consider further steps to ensure the safety of the blood supply as new evidence or suitable technologies become available.

vCJD: Blood

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a cost/benefit assessment of introducing prion removal blood filters to reduce the transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease via blood transfusion has been undertaken by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: A cost/benefit analysis of introducing prion removal blood filters can only be completed once the Department has received both results of clinical safety trials and the independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the filters in reducing infectivity requested by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues and Organs. The analysis will also need to be informed by the outcome of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease prevalence studies currently under way.